What if it went like this?
by mzdarkstar
Summary: Kelsi imagines what her friends and enemies would be like in a different life, meaning many possible couples and endings! lol, More detailed summary inside! Kelsicentric.
1. Kelsi decides to write stories

**Hi guys! This might just be a one shot, depending on how much I like it, so please review! **

**Basically, in this story Kelsi is a simple girl who gets bullied a bit, and when she stops playing the piano, she expresses her creativity by making little stories. **

**Because of this, there will possibly be Troypay, Ryella, Chadella, Troysi, Chadpay, Zeylor (or is it Zekelor? Anyway, it's Zeke n Taylor, just so it's clear) and many other possible couples, depending on how the story goes.**

**So, hoping that the intro didn't put you off my story, I hope you enjoy it )**

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Kelsi sat at the lunch table, alone. She looked around at the cafeteria. The basketball team, mathletes, cheerleaders, were all at their tables. So where was the Drama Club?

"Hey Kelsi!" came a voice from behind.

"Oh – er - wha . . .?" she fumbled, swivelling round to look into the face of Ally.

"Why aren't you sitting with the drama club?" Ally raised an eyebrow as if to say, 'you think you're better than us or something?'

"They . . . they're not here. Are they?" Kelsi stammered, as Ally retorted,

"Well, duh! They're over there!" she pointed with a bright pink nail to a table that was right over at the other side of the cafeteria. Kelsi stared, surprised.

"Sharpay got didn't like this table, it's too open for people to eavesdrop, you know?" Ally pointedly glanced at the basketball team's table where Chad was showing of some moves, before giving a little 'urgh'.

"Oh . . . but . . . they . . . why didn't they tell me?"

"They _didn't_?" Ally looked so surprised; it was obvious she was faking it. "Well, I didn't know _that_. I guess Sharpay just . . . forgot . . ." and with that, she flounced off. Soon after, an explosion of laughter came from their table, and Kelsi turned to see Sharpay and her friends looking her way, unable to stop laughing. '_Ha ha, what a funny joke._' She thought bitter. '_Why is it always me?_'

Kelsi rushed out of the cafeteria, only to bump into Troy just outside.

"Hey Kel!" he said cheerfully. "My dad made me do extra practice, like always. What are you doing?"

"Leaving." She said flatly, scrunching her eyes to stop the tears from falling.

"Wait, wait, what's wro - are you _crying_?"

"No!" she said quickly.

"Yes." He put his arm around her shoulders and led her in the direction of the auditorium. They walked quite quickly.

"Okay, tell me Kel-bell. What's up?"

"Nothing important, I just . . . I mean, it's just that Sharpay and her crew . . ."

"Oh. I see." Troy said. "What did they do this time?"

"Nothing, they just changed tables without telling me. See, it's stupid. _I'm_ stupid." She whined, as quiet as she could.

"C'mon Kel, you're not stupid. You're crying for a reason, and that's _not_ it, I can tell. That sort of thing wouldn't just set you off. " Troy stopped as they reached the auditorium door, and he held it open for her.

"Well . . . they're, I mean she's always doing little things to aggravate me. It seemed like accidents. Now it pretty obvious that it's on purpose. I'm like some annoying fly she wants to squish."

"Listen, just don't worry about . . ." Troy trailed off as he saw the mess.

The piano that was on the stage was broken on the floor in front of the stage. It looked like someone has pushed it from the back to the front of the stage, and then flung it off with amazing force.

"What the -"

"Vandals! Hooligans! Idiots! Why wasn't this piano put away after practise? What sort of a heartless fool would bother to damage a expensive piano?" screamed Ms Darbus, flinging her shawl around her in anger. 'I can think of someone,' Kelsi thought gloomily, then corrected herself. 'No. Sharpay wouldn't go so low. Or should I say, she wouldn't do anything that could potentially break a nail.'

"I told you that my Mum lent my piano to a relative," said Kelsi, worriedly. "How can I do my piano practice?"

Ms Darbus started blankly at Kelsi. "My dear, I'm afraid you can't,"

HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM

"I'm home!" Kelsi called out to no-one in particular, as she shut her front door.

"Just in time too. Someone's on the phone for you!" her mother's voice wafted from the kitchen to the hallway where Kelsi was standing.

'Someone's calling me? I don't usually get calls straight after school; I wonder what's so urgent . . . ' She picked up the phone, and anxiously put it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Oh hiya Kelsi!" came Gabriella's bouncy voice. "I hope you don't mind me calling, I got your number from Jason, and I wasn't sure if you were home so I thought I'd try anyway. Phew!" Gabriella took a breath of air after using so much in one go.

"Oh, sure, that's fine." Kelsi replied.

"Are you okay? Troy said you felt a bit down. Hey, did you hear what happened to the piano in the-"

"Yep, I heard. I went there with Troy and saw it myself."

"You did? With Troy?" Gabriella sounded a bit put out. "Oh, I guess you're lucky to have seen it. No-one's allowed in there now."

"I'm lucky to have seen a broken piano?"

"Well, no, I didn't mean-"

"I messin' with you Gabi." Kelsi felt a bit apprehensive now. She had a feeling like Gabriella wasn't getting to the point of what she called for.

"So, why did you call?"

"To find out if you were okay!"

There was a little pause.

"Why did you call, Gabriella?"

"I . . . just wanted to know if . . . uh . . ." Then, Gabriella blurted it all out. "If you could practice that audition song with me. I sorry to ask and I know you're busy but we haven't had any time and it's better with a piano, I can't even imagine how much Sharpay is practising and I have to sing with her, and maybe you could help us practise together-"

Kelsi felt something jump in her stomach. So this is for Sharpay?

"I'll think about it. I have to go now, see you tomorrow."

"Wait, wait! Maybe we can sort something out!" offered Gabriella. In the background, Kelsi heard something like

'what the hell are you talking about?' it sound like a male voice.

'Shh, I'm on the phone!' was the reply from Gabriella.

'Call them back then. Come over here!'

'I'm not just gonna hang up on – get off Troy!' then a sequence of giggles.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Gabi." Kelsi hung up, getting bored, of waiting just to listen to mystery noises.

"Someone from school?" asked Mrs Nielsen, coming out of the kitchen. She stood at the doorway of the hall, drying her wet hands.

"Well, it wouldn't really be anyone else," said Kelsi gloomily. "Mom, when are we getting our piano back?"

"Not for a while, I would assume," shrugged Mrs Nielsen. "Your aunt wants to learn how to play, and you haven't been using it much, and we still have a keyboard!"

"A keyboard is not the same. My fingers will start lagging behind, I won't be able to play as fast as before -"

"For goodness sake, don't be such a drama queen. You know, there are other ways of expressing creativity, not just though music." The mother said exasperated.

"Like?"

"Oh, I don't know . . . drawing . . . writing poems . . ."

"Mom, I'm no artist. And people in the drama club recite poems for plays, not write them. If you write them, you're classed as geeky. Though that won't make a difference for me."

Mrs Nielsen walked over to her and gave her a tight hug.

"Sweetie, take no notice of those people, they're the ones that lower your self-esteem. You know, when I was little, I used to write stories. Ones about animals that can talk or people that went on adventures, or- "

"Mom, thanks but . . . I don't think I'd want to do that." Kelsi let go of her mother, still feeling down, thinking a lot about Sharpay. Mrs Nielsen shook her head.

"Well, whatever you decide to do, cheer up at least." And with that, her mother exited.

HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM

Later that evening, Kelsi lay on her bed, thinking about anything and everything that popped into her head.

_. . . Sharpay is practising and I have to sing with her . . ._

_. . . What sort of a heartless idiot would do this . . ._

_. . . I guess Sharpay just . . . forgot . . ._

_. . . Kel, you're not stupid . . ._

_. . . You know, when I was little, I used to write stories . . ._

_. . .I used to write stories . . ._

_. . . There are other ways of expressing creativity . . ._

_. . . Write stories . . ._

That evening, maybe out of interest or just boredom, Kelsi decided to write a story.

And the first one . . . would be about Sharpay Evans.

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**Sooooooooooo, whad'ya think? The ending was a bit crap, but hopefully the rest of the story will make up for it . . . ? **

**Please leave a reply, and if you have any good ideas for chapters, I will gladly dedicate that chapter to you. Thanks for reading!**


	2. The Ice Queens Secret

**Hello again. Hope you like the first chapter; I couldn't be sure because there were hardly **_**any reviews**_**! So please let me know what you thought!**

**Disclaimer: I forgot to put one in the first chapter, but I'm sure readers get the general idea. After all, if I owned HSM, my stories would be **_**in the movies**_**, not on Fan fiction!!!**

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Recap

_. . . You know, when I was little, I used to write stories . . ._

_. . .I used to write stories . . ._

_. . . There are other ways of expressing creativity . . ._

That evening, maybe out of interest or just boredom, Kelsi decided to write a story.

And the first one . . . would be about Sharpay Evans.

HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM

'The Ice Queen's secret' Kelsi scribbled on the top line of her A5 notepad. It wasn't a very catchy title, but she wasn't really in creative mode, she was in composing mode.

'I want to compose a song. Writing takes up so much time . . .' she thought, flopping down on her bed. 'Okay, c'mon,' she pulled her notepad towards her '_Write_!'

_Magazine model Sharpay Evans had been modelling for years. She had a natural talent and everyone knew it, but so did she and that was the problem. Her annoying vain-ness causes her to push away everyone she cared about most, if she was even able to care about somebody._

Kelsi paused. She was quite surprised; the whole paragraph just came naturally, like a hidden talent waiting to be explored. She pushed her pale brown hair behind her ears, and continued to write; 

_Her best friend was a simple girl called Martha Cox, because she was the only person who bothered to put up with her. Her ultimate rival . . . was a boy who had achieved as much as her and more . . . a brilliant career in acting and modelling . . . Ryan Evans. Her own brother. His reputation was made even bigger, because he knew famous teenage basketball players, like Zeke Baylor, Chad Danforth, even megastar Troy Bolton!_

_It so happened that one day, she was talking to Martha about this subject._

"_He had ruined-my-life." Sharpay was referring to Ryan, who she always ranted on about every so often. She was wearing a pink cap, which she often wore to hide her face, a pink slouch top, and black skinny jeans with heels. Usually, she wore white or blue in her outfit; it went with her code name, the Ice Queen, better._

"_Troy would have gone out with me but nooooo, Ryan just HAD to introduce him to Flabi Gabi. Arghhhh!" she raged._

"_I'm sure Ryan was being polite. Of course you would introduce a friend to your girlfriend!" said Martha comfortingly. She was wearing an unstylish skirt, and an out of shape pale green top. Her outfit colour clashed and to make it worse, it made her look bigger than she actually was._

"_No." Sharpay was trembling with rage as she pointed at Martha. "That is just it. He wasn't. He hooked them up to get back at me! I'll never forgive him, for the love of pink, (__**A.n. a phrase pinched from the cartoon 'Bratz' I think**__) I'll get back at him, I swear." Taking a breath, from her crazy rave, she gazed at the big girl, who was fiddling with needles._

"_Martha," she said, with a little disgust. "What the hell are you doing?"_

"_Knitting!" she said proudly. "I thought I take up a new hobby." Martha's new 'hobby', looks like something out an alien movie. Maybe the alien itself._

"_Hey" Sharpay crouched down beside her, "Wanna know something?"_

"_Ohh, yes!" She said delightedly, still knitting, "I love knowing things!"_

"_Yes, yes," Sharpay uttered, impatient, "But this isn't anything. This is a secret, because you're my best friend and I trust you."_

"_Wonderful!" This time, Martha put her knitting down, and looking eagerly at the model, "I love secrets!"_

"_This one a big secret . . ."_

_She beckoned for Martha to lean in closer . . ._

"Kelsi! Come down for dinner!"

"Mum! Please, give me a bit longer-"

"No can, do, the food'll get cold. Come on!"

Annoyed, Kelsi chucked her notebook into her school bag, just to keep it out of the way. 'Just when I was getting to the climax! I have no clue what the secret will be, but I had a flow of creative thoughts. Who knows if I'll get that again . . .'

When Kelsi had finished dinner, she was too and full content to remember about it.

HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM

The next day, Sharpay was up to no good again. When she tripped up Kelsi as she was walking out of class and zipping up her bag at the same time, the contents flew everywhere. Troy was pissed at Sharpay big time, especially after Kelsi was upset yesterday.

"Why the hell did you do that for?" he hissed, helping Kelsi retrieve her items. As he did so, he picked up the Notebook that Kelsi had the story in, but absent-mindedly put it back in her bag. Kelsi bit her lip, anxiously. 'Damn, I forgot about that. I should really leave the notebook at home.'

"It was an accident!" Sharpay argued, blatantly lying.

"Accident, my butt." Chad muttered.

"Shut it, Danforth!" She replied sharply.

"C'mon Sharpay. It was so obvious!" Zeke exclaimed and shook his head. Gabriella and Taylor, who were passing, did the same.

"Zeke you're supposed to be on _my_ side!" Sharpay was getting frustrated.

"In case you haven't noticed, your side is the wrong side to be on. I'm glad Zeke has his head screwed on properly." Snorted Jason, who had appeared from nowhere with some other people who wanted to see what was happening.

The blonde-headed girl stormed away. Kelsi was glad of her friends support, but they wouldn't always be there to defend her. And did they defend her because they liked her . . . or because they didn't like Sharpay? Maybe they just liked getting involved, like the other people hanging around . . .

"Hey, dude," continued Jason "Talking about screwed on heads, what happened to you in practice? You missed the ball so many times . . ."

"Gabriella!" called Troy, who had finished helping Kelsi, "I wanted to show you something . . ."

"Puff head," said Taylor affectionately to Chad "How about we have lunch together . . ."

Kelsi looked around, and took off. It wasn't the AAM, the After Action Mode. When all the action's over, everyone keeps going on about it, like it's something that's so amazing. It was the Back To Normal mode. When all the actions over, nobody remembers it's even happened.

Kelsi zoned out and just walked where her legs took her. She found herself thinking about her story . . .

"_Well, well, well. If it isn't Martha Cox!"_

_Martha froze and slowly turned around. A guy was leaning against the wall of the bar, smoking. He threw the cigarette butt to the ground and squished it as he stepped out of the shadow. It was Ryan Evans._

"_Go Away."_

"_Now, Martha . . . that isn't how you treat an old friend, is it?" he spread his arms out, and Martha saw that he was dressed very stylishly, with a black hat to top it off._

"_I'm working with Sharpay now. You know that makes us enemies, right?"_

"_Not if we don't hate each other. Come with me. Come on!" He motioned for her to follow him. Martha looked around, to see if anyone was watching, then quickly followed. They got into his stretch limo, which was very comfortable, she noticed. 'What am I doing?' she thought desperately. 'I shouldn't be here . . .'_

"_Martha. You know I've always cared for you, right? I've always looked out for you, and never made fun of you. That means there's a lot of trust in our friendship. Did you know that? Why are you out so late?"_

"_Sharpay needed nail polish remover. Why are you out so late?"_

"_Needed fresh air," he shrugged off the question casually; it never occurred to Martha that he might be lying, because she was so simple._

"_You shouldn't let my arrogant sister order you around. You work with her, not for her. Why is she so successful, I wonder? What's her secret?"_

"_Secret?" Martha gabled, startled at the word. "Secret? What do you mean, secret? There's no secret, I have no idea where you got that-"_

"_Shush." Ryan held up a finger and leaned back. He was only joking, but now Martha gave it away that she was hiding something, he was determined to know._

"_Do you want to talk about it?" he said, trying a soft approach._

"_Talk about a secret? What are you, crazy? It wouldn't be a secret anymore, would it?" Martha was really under pressure now._

"_So our friendship is nothing then?" Ryan decided to be more forceful. "We can't even have secrets together, let alone you keeping secrets from me? I'm insulted."_

"_No!" She said, horrified._

"_You're right. We're enemies aren't we? I'll just take you home and-"_

"_Please!" Martha started to cry. It was pathetic but she couldn't stop. She didn't want to lose another friend; by becoming friends with Sharpay she had to sacrifice hers. It was the worse mistake she had ever made._

"_You are a good friend to me, please don't be angry!" She covered her bulging face with her hands. Ryan patted her back._

"_You can tell me Martha . . ."_

"_S-she's h-had plastic surgery . . . s-she not naturally p-p-pretty and-" Martha blew her nose with a tissue she had in her pocket,_

"_You d-don't know ab-bout it b-ecause it was after your parents split and-" The mention of it reminded Ryan of it very clearly. Ryan and Sharpay were as close as close, but after the split, Sharpay went with their Mum (__**A.N. sorry, 'mom'. I live in England, so I use engish spelling**__) and Ryan with their Dad. That was the cause of their ultimate hate for each other now . . ._

"_And the-the l-last thing . . ."Martha sobbed, Ryan had to lean in to hear it._

"_After the p-pictures are t-taken . . . They use technology t-t-to alter her f-face before they're used in the m-magazines!"_

_Ryan put his arm round Martha shoulders as she broke down._

'_And to think all those people thought that she was naturally pretty. I thought they were just nutty in the head, but it makes sense now . . . I though she was copying my style when she started wearing hats, but she had a reason . . .' this was what Ryan thought but didn't say._

"_There, there, Martha. You did a good thing. Don't cry . . . sharing our secrets makes our friendship stronger . . ." this was what Ryan said, but didn't think. He was thinking of the perfect way to ruin Sharpay reputation . . . and when the idea came to him, his mouth stretched into a wide smile . . ._

Kelsi was walking down the hallway at this point, and she stopped to a halt after she thought of the last bit.

'I can't wait to write this down! Should I end it there, or write what happened to Sharpay after?' Kelsi knew the story was unrealistic, but the idea of it excited her for a reason she couldn't explain.

"Get out of the way, Drama Dork!" demanded Chelsea, one of Sharpay's Cheerleader friends.

"Yeah, you wouldn't be so rude if _you_ knew that _I_ knew Sharpay's secret!" Kelsi muttered, giggling a little because Sharpay's secret wasn't real.

"What the hell are you saying dork?"

"Oh, shut your face," was Kelsi's sharp reply and all passers by gasped. Kelsi also covered her mouth with her hand. It was the sort of thing people said to Cheerleaders, and it came from Kelsi of all people. Chelsea looked deeply offeneded.

"In a door!" added Kelsi, exploding into giggles. She couldn't help it. 'The damage is already done, right? So might as well make it worse!'

This only made Kelsi laugh harder, in spite of everyone looking at her like she was crazy. She kept laughing.

Even when Troy came along with Gabriella and asked what was going on.

Even when Sharpay herself popped up and demanded to know what was happening. Kelsi was walking away then, her cheerful cries of laughter echoing down the silent hallway. She figured Chelsea must have told her about the secret thing, because just before she was out of earshot, she heard a screech,

"What the hell? Secret? Kelsi knows about WHAT?"

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**So, the first mini-story in C2. Looking back at it, I think it could have been better. What do you think? Any tips?**


	3. Switching Roles

**Hello again! I'm going to try and make the next chapters as good as possible, so if you have any ideas, please let me know!**

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**Recap**

Even when Sharpay herself popped up and demanded to know what was happening. Kelsi was walking away then, her cheerful cries of laughter echoing down the silent hallway. She figured Chelsea must have told her about the secret thing, because just before she was out of earshot, she heard a screech,

"What the hell? Secret? Kelsi knows about WHAT?"

Ryan stared from where he was sitting ,at Kelsi, who was red in the face from laughing. 'What is _wrong_ with her today?' he thought, bewildered. She sat at the old Drama club table, on her own. He decided to join her, seeing as Sharpay was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey." He plonked his stuff down on the bench.

"Oh . . . oww ohowww, my mouth hurts. My whole face hurts!" Kelsi groaned, resting her head on the table.

"That's because you've been laughing like an idiot for ages! Everyone thinks that Sharpay's secret must be really embarrassing or something. Or, they just think you're a wack-job."

Kelsi snapped her head up and looked at Ryan, dazed.

"I'm glad to decided to come here on your own," she said seriously, even though she was still thinking about her story, "You shouldn't let Sharpay boss you about." She would have burst out laughing again, if Ryan's expression wasn't so troubled.

"Kelsi . . ." began Ryan, unsure how to say it. "If there's something about Sharpay I need to know about . . ."

"No, I was joking, it was -" Kelsi sighed. "I'm not lying. There is no secret."

"Then why is Sharpay acting all weird?" burst out Ryan, flinging his bag away from him, "And why did she tell you, instead of her own brother? I'm not stupid, even if Sharpay does boss me around." Ryan stressed. Kelsi was starting to slowly fall back to reality, coming off the high of being so happy.

"Ask Sharpay." She said in a low voice. Sharpay really does have a secret? Well, it was nothing to do with her, even though everyone else thought it was.

"Fine. Bye." Ryan said sulkily, and as he left, Ally, Chelsea, and another girl with ginger hair approached.

"Kelsi!" whispered Chelsea eagerly. "What the secret that Sharpay's all edgy about?" Kelsi stared coldly at her.

"So now it's all nice and politeness, is it? Next time, try doing that before you're rude to me, and maybe I'll be more – _inclined_ – to tell you something you want to know!" with that, she haughtily left, but not before she heard Chelsea say 'What the hell is wrong with _her_?'

Kelsi didn't know herself. She didn't usually act this weird or this fierce. Maybe it was just hormones or something.

Kelsi didn't know where to go now. She didn't want to stop and hang around, because sooner or later somebody would come and ask about Sharpay again. She looked around the shiny hallway and gripped her bag more tightly, before setting off to the auditorium.

On the way, she caught sight of the huge Wildcats poster that had Troy's face on it. 'Troy . . .' she thought, as she decided to go to the gym instead.

'What am I going there for anyway? Just to watch them practice? People will think – no. I don't care. I'm going anyway.'

When she reached the gym, she sat in the seats, which were empty, apart from one or two guys who had come to watch, and were shouting things like 'You call that _basketball_?' and 'How can you win the next match if you can't even catch the ball half the time?' It was pretty dumb, because half the things they said weren't true.

Kelsi took out the notebook with the story in it, and quickly wrote the end of The Ice Queen's secret, and found herself wondering about what to write next. She gazed at Chad, his puffy hair flopping about as he ran up and down the court. Then Jason, who had just caught the ball and was doing a few tricks before finally passing it on to . . . Troy. No surprises when he got the ball right into the net.

'Troy is really cool with all his rep and style, Jason, not so much. Taylor is really smart, Sharpay, not so much. Gabriella has a wonderful singing voice. Me . . . not so much. What if everyone like . . . swapped roles?' She quickly found a fresh page and quickly titled it 'Switching Roles' while thinking

'What if it went like this?'

_Kelsi Nielsen aimed very carefully and pushed the ball up with her hands. The cheerleaders screamed with delight as the ball went into the net perfectly._

"_I guess that means the cheerleaders win again!" she said, shooting a dazzling smile at the basketball team captain, Chad Danforth._

_He shook his head in shame, his hair wobbling. "I guess so." He grinned at her and left the gym. She went over to the stands, where some people from the schools scholastic decathlon team were sitting. The main leader was Gabriella Montez, and next to her sat a shy girl called Taylor, but Taylor left quickly with Chad. Kelsi followed a little while after._

"_So, tell me again Kelsi." Said Gabriella, hurrying to join her. "How is this tournament working?"_

"_Well," began Kelsi, "Being the head Cheerleader, I want what's best for my group. Our practice is scheduled for the same day as the basketball team, so they get to go first, naturally. The basketball team is _sooo_ much more __important__, but they always take AGES to practice." They were outside of the Gym now._

"_Because big head Danforth doesn't want to share, I said that we'll compete for it." They were walking down the hallway. Every so often, she saw posters, the cheerleading team in front, the basketball team somewhere in the background, and posters with vice versa._

"_The days that we have practice, we do a cheer, and play basketball straight after, B-ball team v Cheer squad. Whoever wins both gets to practice first. Cheerleaders won today, they're practicing in the gym, but I'm not today . . ."_

"_And if it's a draw?" panted Gabriella, struggling to keep up with Kelsi._

The real Kelsi looked up. The real cheerleading squad had come to hang around and flirt with Troy if they were lucky. Smirking, she looked back down and wrote:

"_Then it's the team leaders one on one," Kelsi grinned, as she flung open the auditorium door. "And that's what I find REALLY fun!"_

_They walked inside._

"_Hiya honeys!" Kelsi beamed at Taylor, Chad, and Troy, who were standing on the stage._

"_You been a while!" mumbled Troy, shuffling his feet._

"_Sorry T.B. darling, I got held up." Kelsi raised her eyebrows at Gabriella, who blushed. "Lets get this show on the road. Taylor when you're ready. Who's the pianist?"_

"_I-I am." Troy came forward._

"_Really? I never knew you could play, so can I!" Kelsi said in surprise, and everyone stared at HER in surprise._

"_You play the piano Kelsi?"_

"_Really? I never knew?"_

"_For how long?"_

"_Couple of years, I guess," Kelsi shrugged. "Are we gonna do this or what?"_

_Troy sat down, and slowly got into his flow, playing beautifully with ease. It was so nice, Taylor forgot her cue to start singing._

"_Oh – uh – sorry! A - maaaa – singgg graaace- how sweeeeet-"_

"_That is not how you sing Amazing Grace." Snorted Chad. Leaning on the piano like he thought he was so cool._

"_You sing it then!" scowled Taylor, folding her arms. Kelsi and Gabriella looked at each other as if to say 'Uh-oh!' But Chad never backed down from a 'challenge'. He began to sing:_

_Amazing Grace_

_How sweet the sound_

_That saved a wretch like me_

_Chad's voice was unbelievably good! Taylor joined in with the harmony, and Kelsi played the tune for the song with Troy, at the other end of the piano:_

_I once was lost_

_But now I'm found_

_Was blind but now I see_

_And the sound of the whole thing truly was amazing. At the end, Taylor looked into Chad eyes, and Kelsi looked into Troy's eyes, and it could have been the beginning of a beautiful relationship and career. But of course, that's not how things happened._

_At East High, reputation and being cool was more important than anything else. So Chad and Kelsi got together instead, because it was better for their rep. So did Troy and Taylor. And Gabriella? She just went back to her equations._

Kelsi snapped the notebook shut with a sigh. When she looked up, the whole basketball team had stopped playing at were looking at her, Troy grinning. The cheerleading team too.

"What?" Kelsi got up quickly at looked around suspiciously, nervous at so many eyes on her. It made her remember why she didn't go on stage so much: stage fright. "_What?_"

Troy went on grinning.

"You know Sharpay's secret, don't you?" Jason said suddenly, and everyone's faces went from being curious to being eager.

"Yeah _sure_. Of _course_ I don't, you idiot!" Kelsi voice dripped with sarcasm before changing to annoyance. Suddenly, she caught sight of Troy's idiotic face. "Troy Bolton, _why are you grinning like that? What did you say?_"

Chad suddenly started to laugh, and when Chad starts laughing, everyone else around him will join in too, sooner or later.

Feeling a little humiliated, Kelsi left the gym, laughter all around. Troy caught up with her as she walked down the hallway.

"Hey, wait up, I'm sorry Kel-bell!" Troy said, turning on the charm.

"Shut up. Don't flippin' Kelly belly me. What did you say?"

"Just some crap about the secret and about how she- I mean when you-" Troy couldn't get the words out properly, and Kelsi got more frustrated.

"Speak up or shut up, Troy!"

Troy gave her a kiss on the cheek before pulling her into a bone-crushing hug.

"You know you love me really." He guffawed. Kelsi struggled against his strong arms.

"I wouldn't dare do anything so stupid! Maybe I should call you Bolton instead of Troy. Show you a bit of authority from someone else for a change." she giggled, and when he put her down, they smiled at each other.

"I'll talk to you later," Troy started to walk in the direction of the gym, before stopping to add "Kel-bell Niel-meal." He strutted off, making Kelsi laugh.

She stood there for a little while, and when she turned around, Sharpay was there, hands on hips, looking expectantly at her. Kelsi felt a tug in her stomach, and a little voice in her head shout _'Get away, get away!'_

"We need to talk," she demanded.

"Sorry, can't, need to . . ." '_Get away'_ Kelsi thought again. ". . . go . . . somewhere . . ."

Kelsi walked quickly away, glad that Sharpay didn't follow. When Kelsi got to the door that led out of the school, Sharpay shouted down the empty hallway,

"You had time for Troy though, didn't you?"

* * *

**Phew! It seemed like this chapter took ages, maybe because I was in a rush to finish it and couldn't find the time. **

**Now, I've done a story mainly about Sharpay n Ryan, and one of Kelsi. The next will be about either Zeke or Taylor. Which one do you want the most? Please leave a review or send me a message.**

**Also, did you get who switched places in the story? ****Chad n Troy, ****Taylor n Gabriella, ****Kelsi n Head Cheerleader, whoever she is lol (n kind of troy too), ****I didn't switch it too much, because I didn't want it to get confusing.**

**Until next time comrades!**


	4. Zeke's Cupid Catastrophe

**Hello again! **

**Thank you for reading my story so far (but I can't tell if people have if there aren't any reviews:( ****) and I hope you've been liking it so far. **

**If you haven't liked it, leave a review (wink wink) and tell me what you'd like to see more of. Enjoy!**

**WARNING; um . . . this chapter ended up being way longer than intended, but I didn't want to split it into two chapters. My apologies!**

**Disclaimer: Sigh. If only I _did_ own it . . .**

* * *

**Recap**

"We need to talk," she demanded.

"Sorry, can't, need to . . ." '_Get away'_ Kelsi thought again. ". . . go . . . somewhere . . ."

Kelsi walked quickly away, glad that Sharpay didn't follow. When Kelsi got to the door that led out of the school, Sharpay shouted down the empty hallway,

"You had time for Troy though, didn't you?" 

Mrs Darbus had been working hard all week, and to make things more difficult, she had a show to work on. But no matter how busy she was, she would always make time to rehearse the show with her 'Superstars', she called them.

One of the things about this middle-aged lady was that she only really appreciated the ones who had talent and flaunted it. This meant that she spent her time putting those individuals in the spotlight, instead of working with those who had no confidence and couldn't 'flaunt it' as much.

If she tried it, she would have had many great actors instead of a couple. A couple meaning two. Two meaning the Evans children, (or the more confident of the two anyway. Cough Sharpay, cough cough.) And everyone knows what they mean /she means . . . business.

"Why are you sitting around?" Ms Darbus said irritably to the teenagers, who were lolling about. Some jumped up at the sight of her, and tried to look as if they were doing something important.

"We haven't got a pianst." Mumbled one of them, fiddling with her nails. Her nickname was Candi, and she had short, bright pink and black hair, giving people the impression that she was girly and soft. If she ever heard anyone say that about her, she'd punch their face in. Candi loved pink, she loved black, and she loved drama, but she was a punky sort of girl. She didn't care what people thought of her and stood up to Ms Darbus, even when the drama teacher was in a bad mood.

"Of course not, you fool! Why would we need a pianst when we haven't got a piano?" said Ms Darbus, strolling up to the stage.

"You said not to practice without her!" Candi exclaimed. 'Jeez, what a dope,' she thought.

"Without wh-" Answering her own question, Ms Darbus scanned the room and realised who was missing. Becoming seriously stressed, she did something so unexpected, everybody jumped out of their skin, and Sharpay gave a little scream herself. "

Where-is-Kelsi-Nielsen!" Mrs Darbus screamed, tugging on her shawl so hard it almost ripped in two.

HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM

Kelsi flopped down on her bed, back in the place where the stories started. She was becoming attached to this hobby; every time she took out the notebook, she got excited, and new ideas would pop up straight away. She even skipped drama rehearsal because of it! '_There was no point anyway, there's no piano. What would I be doing?_' She would write for ages before even thinking about taking a break.

'_Maybe I __should__ take a break from this_,' she wondered anxiously. Then, laughing at herself, she thought '_Nah_!' and whipped out the book. Writing a bold header 'Zeke's Cupid Catastrophe' she got quickly scribbling;

_Zeke had problems with love and he knew it. What he didn't know was what he could do about it. A good rep always helped, but what he would have liked more was somebody that liked him for who he was._

_It wasn't like he'd never asked anyone out, or vice versa; it was just what happened __after__ that. Our brave soldier's tale begins just after another disaster . . ._

"_It was a really great night, Zeke," smiled a girl called Melody, who was wearing his jacket because she had gotten 'cold'. They were walking out of a restaurant called Pia's Pizzas._

"_It's just as well we went there." Zeke said to her. "In that other place we were gonna go to, there was this bimbo, really ugly and a horrible attitude too. No point in going to a place with bad service." Melody frowned, but Zeke didn't notice._

"_What did this bimbo looks like?"_ "_Oh," Zeke looked surprised that she asked. Why would she care?_ "_Blonde, tall, uh, brown eyes as well, I think, like you. She was really miserable. Bad service." Zeke said again, shaking his head, and Melody stopped short._

"_The service is as bad as you make out, actually; I've been there. And I believe that 'bimbo' you're talking about is my sister."_

_Zeke suddenly felt quite embarrassed, and scratching his head, he said,_ "_Well, you can't deny she is a bit miserable."_

"_Not everybody has a jolly face when thy work you know. From what you're saying, she wasn't even rude to you. She could have been in a bad mood that dayor something! And dissing her off behind her back . . ." _

_Zeke sighed in frustration as Melody rambled on. He was just glad he hadn't seen anyone he knew while she was shouting at him the the middle of the street at night._ _Before he knew what was happening, she shook Zeke's jacket off her shoulders._

"_I'm sorry, but for me, family comes before everything else. You wouldn't even know that about me, would you?" She handed his jacket back._ "_I won't let you talk about my sister that way." __And with that, she walked off, leaving Zeke in complete and utter confusion._

'_Jeez, girls can be so touchy,' he thought miserably, as he found some restaurant and bar place. He went and ordered his drink, and then sat down at a table that had two seats. He flung his jacket over the back of his chair and sat down._

_Gazing out of the window, he lost himself in his thoughts. Thinking about what had just happened and why it always happened to him. Suddenly, he got the feeling he wasn't alone. He looked at who sat in the seat opposite him._

"_Hiya stranger!" Came a familiar male voice, face grinning, brown hair ruffled, blue eyes sparkling._

"_Oh my . . . I don't believe it. You're __Troy Bolton__!" Zeke gasped. "East High's most reputable basketball Captain and major heat-throb! But you went away 'cause your Dad moved house, what are you doing here?"_

"_Zeke, why are you acting like I'm a worldwide famous celebrity? We were good friends and you're acting like you've never met me!" Troy raised an eyebrow._

"_Yeah, I just wanted everyone else to stare." _

_The boys looked around, and sniggering, they found that many people were doing so._ "_How come you're back?" Zeke asked, still chuckling a little._

"_Came back to greet a few old friends, you know. I was gonna visit East High on Monday morning. My dad wanted to get a drink before we went to the hotel, but it looks like he knows the barman."_

_Zeke looked over Troy's shoulder and saw Mr Bolton, catching a joke with the barman, and laughing a lot louder than necessary._

"_How's the baking going?" Troy said, taking his jacket off._

"_Pretty good actually; the other day, I experimented and made this chocolate and vanilla cake. I let it set, then made it really hot and had it with cold ice-cream. I'm telling you, it's a mega combination!" Zeke laughed, but his heart wasn't in it. He was still brooding over Melody._

"_So, Mr Baylor. Why are you so down? Wassup buddy?" Troy asked, with a kind face._

"_Urgh, don't ask." Zeke groaned, "Girl troubles."_

"_Ohhhh, I gets'ya." Winked Troy. "Loud n clear. Want a bit of advice?"_

"_Coming from you, that would be welcome." Zeke sat up a little straighter and took a sip of his drink._

"_Never let the opposite sex tread over you. You have to be the strong one, even if you don't believe it. Make __them__ believe it. That way, even if you do break up, you'll still have that strong feeling and won't beat yourself up about it."_

_There was a brief silence as Troy looked expectantly at Zeke for an answer. Zeke gazed at him, then said simply,_

"_That advice was useless to me."_

"_How come?"_

"_I've tried that already. I'm too weak. I give up."_

"_I__ know what it is now!" Troy said suddenly. "It's self-esteem. We need to build up you're self-esteem."_

Without warning, there was a knock at Kelsi's bedroom door.

'Probably Mum' she thought. "Just a minute!" She called.

"_Uh . . . okay, where do I start?" Zeke puzzled._

"_Leave it to your Personal Cupid." Troy grinned and leaned back in his chair._

_That was the beginning of many things to come!_

Kelsi decided to stop there, so she wouldn't be in the middle of a paragraph or something if she had to stop again.

"Yeah?" she called to the door, and her mum came in.

"Hiya honey, what'cha doin'?" Mrs Nielsen asked. "Still being over dramatic about the piano thing? You've been awfully quiet."

"I'm fine. I'm not really worried about it so much now, I keep occupied with my new hobby." Kelsi said absent-mindedly. Mrs Nielsen looked at her in surprise. Eying the open notebook, she said shrewdly,

"Does it have anything to do with wrting?"

"Maaaay-beeee . . ." Kelsi said in a mysterious voice, before laughing.

"Well, I'm glad you feel better. Come down for dinner now."

"Oh pleeeeease! Five more minutes!" Mrs Nielsen raised an eyebrow and Kelsi knew there wasn't even any point in asking. HSM

HSM HSM HSM HSM

At school the next day, the Secret thing had had time to get around the school, and people found it interesting that Sharpay told Kelsi a secret. Kelsi was oblivious to this though. All she wanted to do was finish Zeke's mini story, then write another one. At that very moment one about Taylor was already forming in her head.

At her lunch break, she didn't want to go to the gym again, so she went to the auditorium. She sat in the corner at the back so no-one would see her. She looked up. Candi was on stage, reciting her complicated speech, reminding Kelsi how she admired her long lasting memory. Kelsi quickly whipped out her book and continued the story;

_Troy Bolton had written a list of things they had to do over the weekend, before Monday came._

"_Right. We have to buy new clothes, go paint-balling and ice-skating, get a haircut, go to a party, and get the numbers of at least five girls before the weekends out."_

"_We?" Zeke raised his head hopefully. They were going to Troy's hotel room because Mrs Baylor said it was okay, and Zeke had stared and the floor the whole way so far._

"_Well . . . you . . . mainly . . . apart from the bit when we get the girls mobile number's!" He grinned. (A.N. Americans say cell instead of mobile don't they? Or do they?)_

"_Troy, how is all this gonna help me? I don't think this is such a great idea." Zeke was starting to worry, and he felt like Troy didn't really understand what he was saying as he opened the hotel door with a silver key._

"_Chill! Like I said, let your personal cupid handle everything! This is just the beginning!" Troy exclaimed as he flopped down on the bed._

Kelsi stopped and looked back through the notebook pages. This was possibly the longest story she had ever written so far, and she had even finished. The thing was, she was losing interest in it now, but she didn't want to leave it unfinished.

'I need to wrap this up,' She thought anxiously, looking up towards the stage again to see Sharpay doing some dance that made her look like a duck. Giggling a little, Kelsi hurriedly scribbled in three stars to show a change of scene, then wrote;

_Over the course of the weekend, Troy and Zeke managed to do the things on the list and more. Zeke managed to get the numbers of two girls at the swimming pool on Saturday, girls called Suzy and Ally. Troy got three._

_Zeke got another number when they went to the arcade, of a girl called Chelsea and Troy got another three, so Troy had passed the goal. Some of the girls asked if he was going to the party, and remembering what Troy said, he said yes. They smiled back 'great, I'll be your date then!' Zeke said ok and shrugged._

_On Sunday, they did the 'make-over', and Zeke had to admit that the change of appearance made him feel really fresh, like a new person, ready to start over. _

_At the clothes shop, Zeke got one more number, of a girl called Rea, making four, and decided not to keep track of how many Troy had, because he knew that Troy had more than his, so that was all he needed to know really. He also met a girl called Taylor, but forgot about getting her number, he was too busy getting to know her._

_Then, Sunday afternoon, they went back to his hotel room, only to find out that Troy was going back to his new house._ "_What?" Troy said, taken aback. "Why?"_

"_Your mother," Mr Bolton said shortly, hurriedly packing._

"_Oh no," worried Troy, swapping meaningful looks with Zeke. "What's happened?"_

"_Nothing life threatening I hope, but I think we should go back. I'll explain on the way." Mr Bolton grabbed his things and rushed out the door, leaving the two boys in the spacious room with Troy's luggage._

"_Well, sorry buddy." Troy shook his head in disappointment. "Sorry I couldn't stay longer to help you out, but look, let me give you the address for the party. Say 'I'm on Troy Bolton's Basketball Buddy Guest List' and they'll let you in." Flinging the paper at Zeke, he also ran out. _

_"Good luck Mr Baylor!"_

"_Stop calling me that!" Zeke yelled down the corridor._

_So on Sunday night, Zeke went to the address on his own, and stated what Troy had said. He thought he looked pretty good, which was an understatement, because he looked hot and didn't even know it. _

_Inside and outside, it looked like a really cool house, holding a really cool party, with really cool people . . . that he knew._

"_Hey Zeke!" waved Chad. "You didn't say you were coming!"_

"_Hey Zeke!" cooed Chelsea flirtatiously. "Glad you could come."_ "

_Oh look! That's my date, Zeke." Said Suzy excitedly to a girl called Sharpay, who eyed him._

"_What the hell?" Chelsea gave Suzy a look like she was crazy. "He's my date!"_

"_I always knew Chelsea was a wack job," Suzy said loudly to Sharpay. "Always creating make-believe fantasies."_

"_Who creating the fantasy, bitch?" Chelsea stepped right up to Suzy, as if they were getting ready to fight, as well as some other girls who claimed Zeke said the same thing to them._ _The people who were crowding round to watch thought a fight was going to happen. _

_Zeke had to act fast, because eventually they would find out that he'd said yes to them all. Then he'd he in for it. 'Wait . . .'_ _Zeke thought 'I only said yes to Chelsea and Rea as well by accident . . . where did those other girls come from?'_

"_I only came because TROY BOLTON advised me too," He said loudly to Chad, emphasising Troy's name. All action stooped._

"_You talked to Troy?" Chad looked at Zeke with awe._

"_Oh yeah, over the weekend. He was giving me advice about stuff you know?" Zeke continued, aware that everyone including the girls themselves, had forgot about the soon-to-be fight._

"_Awesome dude, did he mention me?"_

"_Are you guys, like, best friends?"_

"_Is he gonna come to visit the rest of us soon?"_

"_Yeah, like, now!" and Troy emerged from the door behind Zeke and wrapped an arm round Zeke shoulder's. There was a lot of cheering and whooping, and the party mood really got going._

"_But . . . I thought-"_

"_Yeah, I know, Dad said I could say behind if I wanted, I have to stay with the Montez's." Troy winked at Zeke because he knew they were both thinking of Gabriella Montez. _

_"How's it going?"_

"_You mean the party?" said Zeke "It was almost a disater for me!" and explained what had happened._

"_Oh . . . yeah, oops." Troy said sheepishly. "Sorry, I thought you needed a date!"_

"_No you didn't. You thought I needed five dates. I can at least get a date on my own you know!" Zeke turned on his heel and left, sighing when he heard Troy say 'I sorta got carried away . . . uh, sorry?'_

_Zeke headed home, leaving Troy having a lot of fun at the party. He felt a bit dejected, because Troy was supposed to help him understand how to act around girls, and by trusting him, it turned into a catastrophe. Troy got the complete wrong end of the stick, and Zeke wound up where he started with abunch of random mobile numbers that he wasn't ever gonna use._

_Thinking all this, he kept heading home._

_When he was only a block away, he bumped into the girl he met at the arcade._ "_Oh, hey! Taylor isn't it?"_

"_Uh huh. And you're the guy who almost became Basketball captain." She smiled. Before he could ask how she knew, she said "__I go to East High too. I'm in the Scholastic Decathlon team."_

_They talked for ages, and it wasn't until about fourty-five minutes later that they figured they should get home. They parted, but not before Zeke asked her if she wanted to go out for a pizza or something. She said she'd love to._

Kelsi's brain was becoming frazzled. 'The hell with it,' she thought. 'I'll just write anything.'

_Next day at school, they became an item and lived happily ever after. The End._

Kelsi flinging her pen away, she leaned back and closed her eyes in bliss. It only goes to show how much she wanted to finish it, because she never wrote 'The End' at the end of her stories. She rubbed her aching hand and opened her eyes to see a shadow move across he notebook. Whipping her head up, she saw a figure standing over her.

"Glad you could join us at last, Miss Nielsen."

"Oh . . . uh," Kelsi gulped and sat up straighter. "Hello Ms Darbus."

* * *

**I really hope that was easy to take in, because it took AGES to write! I'm not bored of the story though, not yet! Lol.**

**Well, Zeke went first, so next I'll probably do Taylor . . . unless I can find something good for someone else! Next chapter should be up soon. Thanks for reading!**

**Mzdarkstar x x x**


	5. Taylor's Special Talent

**Hallo! You be liking my story, ya? Good, good. Kiddin. Thank you for reading my story so far, hope you've liked it. I have to say, Zeke's Cupid Catastrophe has to be my fave so far, maybe because I worked on it longer. Who knows?**

**This time, I thought I'd give ya a little taste o' Taylor, so, enjoy!**

* * *

**Recap**

Kelsi flinging her pen away, she leaned back and closed her eyes in bliss. It only goes to show how much she wanted to finish it, because she never wrote 'The End' at the end of her stories. She rubbed her aching hand and opened her eyes to see a shadow move across he notebook. Whipping her head up, she saw a figure standing over her

"Glad you could join us at last, Miss Nielsen."

"Oh . . . uh" Kelsi gulped and sat up straighter. "Hello Ms Darbus."

Troy Bolton raced down the hallway, ignoring the teachers that shouted their disapproval, and the students that called out after him. He only slowed when he heard a voice he knew.

"Lover boy, you'd better turn your ass around and go back the way you came."

"Wha . . . ?" Troy whirled to his left, and standing by the table next to the doorway, was Taylor. Her hands were on her hips, and she looked disapprovingly at the basketball star.

"She's gone." Taylor said shrugging a little.

"No way!" Troy moaned. He raised a hand to his forehead, as he closed his eyes in frustration.

"Third time this week. She's not happy."

Troy said nothing and swayed slightly on the spot. Taylor was sorry for him, and it showed on her face.

"Look, I gotta run, I'm having lunch with Chad, but if I see Gabriella I'll talk to her. Cheer up!"

"Yeah," Troy sighed miserably, hanging around as if he wasn't sure what to do next.

Kelsi watched the situation, feeling sorry for him, as Taylor did. The way she saw it, Troy always tried so hard for Gabriella and all she ever did was throw it back in his face . . .

"Hey! Troy!" suddenly called Kelsi, "Over here!"

Troy's face lit up when he saw her, and gave his usual cheeky grin. He jogged over and sat down at the old drama table, dumping his rucksack on the floor.

"Why don't you sit at the new drama table with the others?" he asked her.

"And endure a whole load of trash from Sharpay? No thank you!" Kelsi snorted, and Troy chuckled. He shot a brief glance around the cafeteria and then looked at Kelsi, who gave him a little smile.

"Have you talked to her about the secret thing? It hasn't died down yet, people are still gossiping." he said He suddenly remembered that he hadn't yet taken off his jacket, so he did. Kelsi raised an eyebrow. 'So he intends to stay a while, then . . . '

"Nope, I don't want to talk to her about it. She'll claw my head off! It's annoying that gossip lasts forever at East High, I bet in any other school, everyone would have got bored of it by now!"

"Probably because in any other school, the gossip is really boring. East High is where all the action is!"

"True." Kelsi laughed, tucking a strand of loose hair behind her ear, as she usually had to do. As the silence lingered, Kelsi felt it was the time to ask him.

"Um . . . Troy? I meant to ask . . . is everything okay between you and Gabriella? Not to be a noser – uh, I mean nosy- but . . . um . . ."

Troy thought for a minute before answering. His face had become troubled and lost.

"It's okay, just . . . well, it's a complicated relationship that isn't really going anywhere, so I guess we'll just stay friends. I mean, I don't know if I should . . ."

"How much do you like her?" Kelsi inquired, resting her head on her hand.

"Quite a bit, considering . . ."

"What?"

"Never mi-" Troy stopped and looked at Kelsi properly. Kelsi slowly took her head over her hand and looked cautiously back. Troy cast another look around, and hurried got his stuff together.

"Are you going?" Kelsi said, taken aback by his sudden departure.

"Yes. And you're coming with me. C'mon, let's take a walk."

HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM

_Taylor's Something Something_

_Taylor was a very smart child, and her parents could tell straight away. It was obvious that after two brothers and two sisters, they had received a bundle of genius joy._

The paragraph was scribbled all over with a black ball-point pen, and after that there was another story opening:

_Taylor was not a very smart child, and her parents could tell. Compared to her two genius brothers and two genius sisters, it was obvious that she did not have the same amount of amazing brain power that they had._

_Taylor wanted so much to be in the Scholastic Decathlon. She knew it would please her parents to no end, they would be so proud of her._

_But the only club it seemed she could join was the Cheerleading Squad. The girls in the club were mainly pretty and dumb, but they were pretty dumb anyway for even joining. There was no denying the fact that Taylor was pretty, fortunately. _

_Unfortunately for her, she was also pretty dumb._

"Earth to Kelsi, are you still with me?"

"Huh?" Kelsi shook her head, and looked at Troy, who was waving a hand in her face. They were walking into an empty classroom; it wasn't used during lunch break.

"Well, I said we'd go in here, because it's quiet, then I asked if you were okay and you didn't answer."

"Sorry, I am, I am okay. I just zoned out. Sorry."

"Chill out Kel-bell, it's cool." Troy dumped his things on a nearby table, and then sat on the edge of it, looking once again at Kelsi with his piecing blue eyes. She didn't like to meet his eyes, because the fact that he was even looking at her for so long made her nervous anyway. She suspected that she had a thing about people staring at her, no matter who it was.

"I didn't want to be over-heard," Troy said softly, Kelsi suddenly felt a lot more on edge than she did a few seconds ago. Maybe it was because she was alone in a classroom with Troy Bolton, or it could be because she wasn't sure what he was going to say.

"You don't like her, do you?"

Kelsi stared, but her body relaxed. Whatever she thought she was expecting, it wasn't that. Who was he talking about? Sharpay?

As though he had read her thoughts, he said "Gabriella. I never noticed it much before, you were always so . . . sly about it. But, I mean . . . what is it about her you don't like? I'm curious."

Kelsi stiffened. "I don't want to talk about her."

"Why?" Troy pressed.

"I just don't want to, okay?" Kelsi shouted, making Troy jump. Kelsi hardly ever shouted.

"She was a decent person before! Following her own dream, helping people follow theirs, even if it meant not sticking to the status quo. Now that she's been accepted as an _irreplaceable_ part of the school, she doesn't care about anybody else! She only wants to make it to the top, pushing her friends away from her as she goes. She's even teamed up with Sharpay! Sharpay, of all people!" Kelsi raged, now pacing around the room. Troy opened his mouth to speak, but Kelsi silenced him.

"No, Troy." She held up a hand. "You wouldn't know, she's your friend, and you try to look for the best in people anyway. Of course you wouldn't." She stopped and faced him, jabbing a finger at her own chest.

"But _I_ know what's going on, and in the end, _I'll_ receive the worst end of it, no surprises there. Did I tell you about the time-" she shook her head and turned away from him, shaking.

It was the most she'd ever said in one time and at such a high volume in her life.

There was silence for a little while, as Troy tried to take in what was going on.

"Well, thank you for answering my question at least," he smiled. Kelsi walked right up to him, and placed a dainty hand on his shoulder. It wasn't something she would have usually done; some girls found any excuse they could to touch Troy, but she felt that what she was about to say might not be received easily.

"Gabriella knows you have basketball practice, and yet she still makes you go to have lunch with her. You know you can't get there in time, jeez, she probably knows it! She hurries of to the auditorium every lunch break and she can't even take some time out to have lunch with her friend. Today, she didn't even wait. She went off with Sharpay, and I'm guessing probably _forgot_ to tell you."

Kelsi collected her things. "If she was my friend, I'd tell her that she needed to decide where her loyalties lie." Kelsi snorted before saying, "For that reason, it's probably best that I'm not her friend!"

Kelsi realised that she might have said too much, and paniced a little. But he needed to be told. He was Kelsi's friend.

Troy was silent and started at the floor, unsure of what to make of it all.

Kelsi decided to go, and leave Troy alone with his thoughts. For some reason, tears started to form in her eyes. She didn't say all of that crap because she cared about Troy. Which she did, in a friendly/brotherly way, but that wasn't the reason. She said it because she had strong feelings about this Gabriella, feelings she never even had with Sharpay. What was the difference?.

She _disliked_ Sharpay Evans.

She _hated_ Gabriella Montez.

HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM

_Taylor nervously walked into the middle of the gym and joined the girls that were crowded there. __I must be out of my mind__, she thought in terror. Suddenly someone spoke to her._

"_Yeah, I know what you're thinking. You must be a complete ditz to be here, right?" Taylor opened her eyes. A blond girl stood in front of her. Her face was sharply defined and had stern qualities to it, but her eyes twinkled with fun._

"_Sharpay." She held out a hand. She had nice hands, but her nails were bitten right down. "Oh. Yeah." Sharpay withdrew her hand and looked apologetically at Taylor. "Can't help it. Habit. Oh well."_

_Taylor laughed and held out her own hand, which Sharpay shook._

"_You do like short sentences! Anyway, I think that could possibly be disguised with a dollop of pink nail polish. It would look nice on you. I'm Taylor by the way."_

"_Okay girls, playtime's over."_

_The crowd of girls turned around to see a girl walking towards them. __Who was she to give us orders?__ Was what most of them were thinking._

_She gazed at them and sensed their thoughts, and shook her head, so her beautiful, long brown curls shimmered and swung over her shoulder. It was such a simple movement, but it had such a mesmerising effect. Even Taylor felt like she was a person to be admired, for a reason she couldn't explain._

"_I'm Gabriella Montez," she gave her auditionees a sweet smile. "East High's new Cheerleading Captain. This is what's going to happen." Gabriella walked over to the stereo, and called, "We'll do a warm-up, and then start the audition . . . if Ally decides to turn up, of course. And where the hell is Jason?" She demanded of Chelsea, who was judging with her._

"_Um . . . Gabs, I heard he's not joining the Squad this year," She pursed her lips, and fiddled with her nails under Gabriella's hard gaze. "I think he's gone to join the basketball team. Or maybe he is joining, but he forgot, like usual,"_

_Gabriella looked as if she was about to explode, then suddenly she sighed, "Let's just start the goddamn audition."_

_x x x_

_Later that week, Gabriella approached Taylor, defiant as she walked across the cafeteria._

"_McKessie. We need to talk."_

_Taylor looked at the glowing girl anxiously, and slowly stood up._

"_Um, okay . . . Sharpay, I'll . . . see you later, okay?"_

_Sharpay nodded as Taylor started to get her things._

"_Oh, leave your stuff, I'll only be a few minutes," Gabriella yawned, getting impatient._

"Kelsi! Dinner!"

Kelsi ignored the call from her mother. It was always at the wrong time.

_They went to the girls' toilets. _(**A.N. Do Americans say 'girls bathrooms'? Or is it lavatories? Could someone give me a heads up please?**) _Gabriella checked that every cubicle was empty before producing a key, and locking the door._

"_It's always handy to have a lavatory key in your purse," grinned Gabriella, leaning on the now locked door. "Especially if it's the girls. Now, let me be the first to say . . . you made it into the Squad. Well done, McKessie."_

"_Really?" squealed Taylor, her hands clasped together as she did a little jump in the air. "No way!"_

"_Yes way," nodded Gabriella. "However, keeping your place in it is a different matter entirely." The smile on the black girl's face slipped a little as Gabriella's tone became more serious._

"_There were some flaws in your audition, but I overlooked them. You're pretty anyway, and that always helps, I just need to train you to be . . . better. You have the potential to become an amazing cheerleader, maybe even take my place one day. Isn't that nice?"_

_Taylor slowly nodded. Gabriella didn't treat her like an equal. It was more like a child, or like someone who was a liability. Taylor didn't like it; it made her uncomfortable._

_Gabriella gazed at Taylor. Suddenly, she said, "Being a cheerleader isn't your ambition, is it?"_

_Taylor was taken aback. How did she know?_

"_Not really. I wanted to join the Scholastic Decathlon Team, but I'm not exactly the smartest person in the world, and, well, I wanted to be a part of something that works your mental ability . . . not that I don't appreciate you letting me join the Squad, of course."_

"_And so you should appreciate what I've done for you!" Gabriella hissed suddenly, and Taylor jumped, frightened. The girl who was such a nice, understanding leader transformed into a monster in a split second._

"_I didn't have to let you in, but I have. Saying the Squad isn't mentally challenging is a misinterpretation of what we're all about!" Gabriella advanced on her, and Taylor backed away._

"_No-I"_

"_I would have thought you would have more respect for someone like me. You think you're better than us because you want to reach for something better than our silly little Cheerleading Squad?"_

"_No! Please Gabriella . . ."_

_Taylor had reached the wall, and there was nowhere to move. Gabriella stopped walking. Composed herself. Re-smoothed her hair._

"_Okay, fine. You want to get into the Smart Ass Club? You got it babe."_

_Taylor looked at the ground, shaking. Gabriella could be very scary, and she didn't know it this was some sort of joke. She could feel her eyes gazing into her back._

"_This is not a joke, I swear." that casual remark made Taylor felt vulnerable, partly because Gabriella could tell what she was feeling and thinking. Maybe that why she was uncomfortable when Gabriella gazed at her . . ._

"_However, you have to repay me by helping me get rid of Chelsea."_

"Kelsi! Come down for dinner please!"

Kelsi didn't even hear her this time. She was too stuck in the story.

_Taylor looked up, shocked. "What? Why?"_

"_Because she's trying to get rid of me!" cried Gabriella in rage. _"_She's a crazy bitch! I'm not having her in my Squad anymore, and I just need a good reason to kick her off!"_

"_Well, she makes out with Troy Bolton in Coach Bolton's office when he's not there. Or was it the in the Secret Garden? Anyway, what about that?"_

"_That's stupid for two reasons. One: Everyone knows that. Two: I can't kick her off the team 'cause she make out with the hottest guy in school! Everyone would think I'm jealous, which would ruin my rep. Wow, you really are dum."_

"KELSI!"

The sheer loudness of it cut right into her head, and she lost her train of thought. She sighed irritably and rounded it off;

"_Sorry." Taylor hung her head._

"_Well,_ y_ou should be." Without another word, Gabriella unlocked the door and left._

Kelsi sat up on her bed, and massaged her aching hand. She had written loads, but she felt it wasn't good enough. A good quantity doesn't ensure a good quality.

What Kelsi really needed was a reader; someone to review her work, and tell her what her good and bad points are.

But some of the things she used in stories were based on real-life things, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to share it with anyone. The Ice Queen's spoilt-ness. Gabriella's two-faced-ness. Zeke's . . . adorable cute-ness! Kelsi giggled.

Sighing, she decided to call it a day. She thought about it, then decided to cut the story in two. She wrote;

Will Taylor get into the Scholastic Decathlon Team?

Will Gabriella manage to overthrow Chelsea?

Will I continue making Sharpay nice?

Find out in Part 2!

The problem was, she still didn't have a title. After a few minutes of intense thinking, she came up with Taylor's Cheerleading Catastrophe, (something that came to her after just thinking about Zeke) and Taylor's Way to Wisdom.

In the end, she gave it a title that captured what the story was _really_ about.

* * *

**Might take me a while to get the next chapter up, because I'm working on another story, not of Fanfiction. Shouldn't be more than say, two weeks, or even one week. **

**So lets check it off; I've done Sharpay, Kelsi, Zeke, Taylor. Next will be . . . ah, I won't say! I'll let you guess for a bit longer. Thank you for reading! **

**Mzdarkstar x x x**


	6. Taylor etc Part 2

**Hello again! Thank you very much for the reviews, loyal readers and fellow writers. I really appreciate 'em. And as you can see, I've written 'Taylor (etc.) Part 2' as the chapter title because I couldn't fit' Taylor's Special Talent Part 2' in, so you see what the 'etc' means.**

**In my opinion, the story is taking off more now that Kelsi has confessed her hate. (I won't say who for, but if you've been reading so far you should know already LOL) **

**I'll try to keep the story interesting. Here's the latest chapter, which is a longer to make up for the extra delay : )**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it. Never did. Never will. Unless a miracle happens. But I doubt that.**

**

* * *

Recap**

The problem was, she still didn't have a title. After a few minutes of intense thinking, she came up with Taylor's Cheerleading Catastrophe, (something that came to her after just thinking about Zeke) and Taylor's Way to Wisdom.

In the end, she gave it a title that captured what the story was _really_ about.

Taylor's Special Talent

(**A.N. End of recap, BTW. it's hard to tell because I ended my last chapter with the title**)

"I can see I'm interrupting something. I should go." Came a cold female voice.

"Wait, I swear, nothing was going on-"

"Don't lie to me!"

"No, believe me, she was-I mean, we were-"

"Don't give me that crap, Chad! Do you think I'm stupid? My God, I probably am for ever thinking that . . . that I actually loved . . ."

Her sobs were choking her, and she couldn't finish the sentence.

"Tay . . . babe . . . " Sound of movement.

"Get the hell away from me." There was a little pause. There were a series of footsteps coming nearer and nearer the door, then Taylor continued, "As for you . . . I can't believe a friend of mine would ever stoop so low . . ."

Kelsi has to dodge quickly, as Taylor burst from the almost empty classroom, more upset than she had ever seen her. She hung around wondering what to do.

Peeking inside the class Chad was sitting on a table, and with him was no other than Gabriella. They were murmuring to each other, but Kelsi couldn't hear what they were saying.

Shocked, she quickly came away from the door before they saw her, and decided to go after Taylor.

HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM

Kelsi eventually found her, after a while. She was in the girls' toilets, not a usual refuge for the intelligent girl. She heard soft little sobs coming from the end cubicle.

"Tay?" breathed Kelsi, nervously. "Oh Tay. Come out and talk to me."

"Who the hell's that?" cried Taylor fiercely, her voice echoing around the clean lavatories.

"It's Kelsi. Kelsi Nielsen, remember? The drama club. Please talk to me. I know about Chad."

"THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?" she shrieked, slamming open the door so hard, the lock almost broke. She stood by the sinks, her face wet with tears. Kelsi corrected herself quickly.

"I don't mean that I know a lot, I happened to be around the area when you were yelling at Chad. I don't know anything important, really." She slowly approached her, taking it easy, trying to soothe her pain with each comforting word. "Taylor, you can talk to me, I won't tell anyone. Anyway, who would I tell? Please talk to me."

When she tried to hug her, Taylor shrugged her away at first, but after that, she gratefully returned the hug.

"It's over. I suspected it was going to happen, but not like this! The last couple of days, we have been drifting apart, even when we try to stay together, you know? Having lunch together . . . going places after school . . . it wasn't working. I knew any day now we were going to split up."

"I don't understand . . . how did this happen? You guys had a _perfect_ relationship!"

"Yes." Troy whispered, shaking. "We did. I never liked someone that much before. It was . . . special . . ."

"I don't think think Chad was cheating on you. As two-faced as Gabriella is, I don't think-"

"Two-faced? What do you mean?" Taylor's distressed face turned to one of confusion. "I thought you liked Gabriella."

"No, I do," Kelsi lied, "I just don't think she's Chad's type, that's all. Trust me. He'll come to find you"

Silence lingered for a while as they stood, hugging each other. Kelsi felt she should say more, but suddenly the bell went for class.

"Those damn bell always ring at the worst time." The light-haired girl tutted, and Taylor smiled. "I'll talk to you later okay? Listen." Kelsi came closer. "If you don't feel comfortable with everyone knowing, just give your face a little wash and put on a brave face." Kelsi smiled. "You have to be strong, Tay."

"Thank you for your wisdom, o relationship counsellor!" smirked Taylor as she wiped her tears away, sounding more like the person she knew. Kelsi grinned, and set off for class.

HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM

"What's going on?" Kelsi said to Ryan, who was absent-mindedly stroking his hat out of boredom. She had just walked into class and everyone was going, as Gabriella would have said, "wack". People were just doing their own thing, and Ms Darbus was nowhere to be seen.

"Free period." He grunted, shifting his feet. "Ms Darbus hasn't turned up yet. We're hoping she won't. Well, Sharpay's hoping she won't, because she's gone to the lavatories to redo make-up." Ryan sighed. He did a classy little flip, and the hat landed neatly on his head.

Kelsi moved to where most of the class was, sitting on desks and chairs, in a lop-sided circle in the middle of the room.

"Hi guys," she said nervously, and they said her name eagerly.

"Kelsi! Kelsi! Tell us the secret, Sharpay's nowhere around!"

"What? No! I don't know it!" flustered Kelsi, backing away a little. Chad stood up and pulled her by the wrists into the middle of the circle. He softly began a chant, 'Tell us! Tell us!' and soon the whole class had joined in, making it a lot louder. Kelsi laughed nervously and told them to stop, but for all the good it did, she shouldn't have wasted her breath.

"C'mon Kel-bell!" came a familiar voice. She turned round. Troy was sitting on a table, his left arm around Zeke's shoulder's, his right hand locked in Gabriella's. He just sat there. Smiling at her.

Kelsi was so crushed, she just stood, completely speechless. Had he not listened to anything she'd told him? How could he still trust her? Did he think she was completely deranged or that hate had stopped her from seeing the truth? She was his friend, and he'd ignored her. That hurt the most.

"Keeeeeel-beeeeeel!" he cooed. "We're waaatiiiiing!"

"Stick it up your nose," She mumbled, and Chad, who had heard over the chant, let go of her wrists and gawped at her. Then he started saying 'ohhhh!' and shook his hand, all ghetto-like. As usual, the others joined in.

"What?" Troy said enthusiastically. "What did she say?"

"She said-"

"Chad!" Kelsi's screech was loud and piercing, and the 'Tell us' and 'ohhhh' died down so they could hear what she was saying.

"If you say anything, you're a Class Five idiot! You never know what _not_ to repeat do you?"

"Why not? It was funny!"

"Funny?! _Funny_?!" Kelsi lowered her voice, and stepped close to him, ignoring everyone watching them. "Taylor is sobbing her heart out in a toilet. You think that's _funny_, huh? Instead of cracking jokes . . . why don't you go look for her before Ms Darbus comes back?"

Chad's smile wiped right off his face as he stared at Kelsi. One guy who was getting bored started another chant, 'Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!'

And Kelsi spat at him, "Shove it up your ass!" and he too gawped at her. No-one was smiling now. In the last few days, the shy, quiet Kelsi they knew, had turned into someone different . . . and people weren't sure whether they liked it or not.

As for Kelsi, she was felt that she had never fitted in less in her life. People didn't see what she saw. They didn't find the same things funny. The only people who got close were Troy and Candi. But even then, Troy was with Gabriella now, and Candi was in another class, so she didn't see her often, only at Drama club.

She sighed, and stalked out, everyone staring after her, not sure what was going on.

On Kelsi's way out, she pushed past Sharpay, who was sauntering into the classroom. Walking into the circle, she said, "What's got into _her_?"

"You tell me." frowned Troy, still looking at the doorway. Chad was gazing into the floor so hard; he could have burnt holes right through it.

"Chad, dude," said Jason, also frowning. "You okay? What's up? Was it something Kelsi said?"

Chad didn't answer any of the questions, but with a sudden worried-ness, stormed out of the classroom. The silence continued.

"I'm confused." Said Gabriella. "Someone _please_ tell me what the hell's going on?"

HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM

Kelsi settled down, as much as you _can_ settle down in a toilet cubicle. She wasn't too pleased with her choice of place, but there was really anywhere else. It _was_ lesson time, after all.

She didn't even think about what had just happened, she just turned to a new page in her notebook, and headed it, Taylor's Special Talent: Part Two. Then straight away, she started jotting down;

"_Babes, please relax. You need to look independent. Cool. Classy."_

_Taylor nodded as she tried again, but in exactly seven seconds, there came a roar from Gabriella._

"_MCKESSIE! Do you have a tendency to ignore everything I tell you? No? Then can you not walk like duck please?! Do it again, and do it right!"_

_Taylor was close to tears, from the anger, the embarrassment, and the pain. She blocked it out, and once again walked to one side of the gym. _

_She took a breath, and then began the piece. She did a slinky walk, then series of cartwheels. Then more slinky-ness, more acrobatics. Slinky. Acrobatics. Slink. Acro. S. A. It was enough to drive her crazy, and not to mention the stupidest thing she had ever done. It went on until she'd reached the other side of the gym._

"_Right, good!" said Gabriella, satisfied at last. "Well, at least you know it for tomorrow. When we do it with the other girls, you'll know it perfect!"_

"_This wasn't part of the bargain," muttered Taylor._

"_No, but helping me fire Chelsea was," Gabriella inquired, "Have you got any ideas?"_

"_No," Taylor winced, in pain._

"_Then you're useless."_ _Gabriella said, and left her alone in the gym._

_Taylor could have burst into tears. It had been a week since the bathroom talk, and she had done all she could to make Gabriella pleased with her, offering fashion advice, agreeing to midnight cheer-training, and Gabriella always seemed to find another way to crush her. It was damaging Taylor physically and mentally, but she didn't even realise it._

_X X X_

"_The Head cheer-bitch been "training" you again?" Sharpay asked sympathetically, as Taylor limped out of the gym. "Poor you. I'm glad I didn't get in, it could have been me. Hell, it could have been anyone! Why you?"_

"_I asked her to help me get on the Scholastic Decathlon." Taylor said miserably, as the walked home. "It would have pleased my parents."_

"_No . . . you . . . didn't!" Sharpay said dramatically. Sharpay had kindly waited three hours after school for her, but Taylor suspected that it was only so the she could actually see Troy and Chelsea leave the Coach's office. As Sharpay was fairly cheerful before, Taylor had to assume that she had seen __something._

"_She's not training you, she's torturing you! Holy crap Tay, you never ask things from __her__, she'll put you through so much, in the end it won't be worth it!"_

"_It will be worth it! I want my parents to believe that I have the potential for it!"_

"_You __don't__ have the potential." Sharpay said sharply, making Taylor stare at her so-called friend, hurt. "I'm guessing that's why you're cheating your way in instead of earning your place. And don't give me that hurt look!" She added. "How do you __think__ Gabriella's gonna get you in? By making you __smarter__?"_

_Sharpay shook her head in disgust. "If you're actually going ahead with this, count me out." And with that, she left, leaving Tay emotionally destroyed._

"_I though you believed in me . . ." she whispered, a solo tear carefully making it's way down her cheek._

_X X X_

_The plan was this. Taylor knew the slinky-acro routine, which she would teach to the other girls. Chelsea was to be side-tracked by Gabriella herself. Then, at the 'big game', they would do the dance they were taught, and obviously Chelsea wouldn't know it, making her look the fool. Then Gabriella could pin it down to Chelsea not being committed to the squad and would chuck her off the team._

_It could go perfectly. Or it could go horribly wrong because of what was mentioned in Part One, about Cheerleaders being dumb girls. (the boys are on the squad too but this story focuses on the girls). Remember?_

_Gabriella said to her, that if you're not smart, you're dumb. That's a problem._

_X X X_

"_McKessie, change of plan." Gabriella informed her, frowning. They were in the gym by the stereo, and the cheerleaders were warming up._

"_It would look too suspicious to the other girls if you taught the class, because that's not your job, it's mine." Gabriella paused as she smiled proudly at the mention of her being Head Cheerleader. "So we're just simply gonna swap places. Yes?"_

_Taylor didn't dare say no to her, so she answered her question with another question._

"_But . . . how will I side-track Chelsea?"_

"_You think of something McKessie, for God's sake!" Gabriella hissed, and flipped her hair over her shoulder in the enchanting way she did. Then, calming down as she always did, she said softly,_

"_You're not as dumb as you think you know. And I haven't forgotten my part of the deal. I just need you to do your part first." Taylor nodded and made her way to the gym door. She wasn't sure where to look for Chelsea, but she didn't want to wander far in case she came to the gym._

_Then she remembered about the Chelsea and Troy thing, and headed to Coach Bolton's office. By a stroke of luck, she saw Chelsea on the way._

"_Oh, hey McKessie. Ugh, actually, I think I'll call you Taylor. only people like Gabriella do that." She shuddered._

_Taylor was so frazzled, she wasn't even listening. She __had__ to stop Chelsea going to the gym._

"_Oh hey, listen-"_

"_We have to hurry, I think we're late for practice, even though I hate going. What sort of idiot would vote for a wank like her?"_

_Taylor had to agree, but that 'wank' was doing her a favour, so she had to repay her. She took a breath and said "The squad's not on today, no idea why. You might as well just go home, everyone else has."_

"_No Cheer Practice?" Chelsea frowned. Then she shrugged. "Okay, I'm off home then. Thanks for hanging around to let me know Taylor!"_

_Taylor hugged herself as she watched Chelsea leave. Chelsea had been nice to her. Gabriella hadn't. Yet she was plotting against Chelsea. It wasn't __fair, really. Was this all a waste of time like Sharpay said? Taylor was started to doubt that Gabriella would really help her after all . . . ._

_X X X_

_The big game. The huge football game _(**A.N. sorry, I should have said soccer**)_ that East High had been waiting for. In five minutes, the game would start, and so would the cheers._

_Taylor was waiting with the other cheerleaders. The cheerleaders friends were here too, but Sharpay wasn't. She said she had to meet someone. Suddenly, Gabriella stood up._

"_Girls! This is it. The big one. If we can pull this off-" then, out of the blue she was interupped by Chelsea bursting in late._

"_Oh my god!" she screeched. "I had no idea the game was today! What routine are we doing? The pyramid one?"_

"_No," said Ally, looking weirdly at her, "The strutting one we learnt two days ago!"_

_Chelsea's mouth just about dropped open. "But we didn't have a rehearsal two days ago . . ." then her gaze slowly moved to Taylor who was shaking with fear. " . . . because it was cancelled . . . "_

_Chelsea's confusion turned to anger. "You lied to me." She hissed. Everyone, the cheerleaders, the basketballers, and their friends were all suddenly quiet. Then a commentator started to speak, and everyone rushed out in excitement, eager to see the game. Only Chelsea and Taylor remained._

"_Why? What have I done to you?" she said in a hurt but angry voice._

"_Nothing!" wailed Taylor and began to sob. Chelsea stared in surprise before going to comfort her._

"_It was Gabriella." Said Chelsea, not as a question, but confirming it for herself, because she knew it had to be. Only __she__ could make someone feel that bad._

"_It always is." Came a voice, and Taylor looked to see Sharpay walking with Troy, across the gym, over to where they were._

"_Bitch. She promised her a place in the Scholastic Decathlon Team. But the ones who know her better, know that's not gonna happen."_

"_Why do you wanna do that for?" said Troy in surpise. "Sharp says you're great at fashion. Isn't that right Sharp?" he grinned and gave her a kiss, making her squeal, and Chelsea didn't blink an eye. Taylor's eyes widened. It wasn't Chelsea who was fooling around with Troy- it was __Sharpay! No wonder she'd wait three hours after school!_

"_I don't know what to do . . ." Taylor hung her head. Chelsea, Sharpay and Troy glanced at each other._

"_Hang around with us for a while." Smiled Troy and Taylor smiled gratefully back._

_X X X_

_What happened was this. They hung around, mucking about in the gym, all the time hearing the noise outside. _

_Chelsea revealed that Ally and Jason not turning up to the audition wasn't an accident either; they had been together. They were an item, but no one knew.They wanted Gabriella out of the school as well._

_Troy revealed that Gabriella could read people by gazing at them, because she just read their body language. troy could do it too. There are people who can do that, after going though experiences. _

_But most of all, it was the most fun Taylor had had in a long time, and she felt more happy than ever._

_X X X_

_After the game, everyone came back to the gym, Gabriella leading the crowd, to find the four standing there, hands on hips (or folded in Troy and Chelsea's case) waiting for her. Judging by the fairly solemn look on their faces, Taylor guessed that East High lost. __Gabriella stopped, staring at them, and everyone else stopped behind her, falling silent._

"_The deal's off Gabriella. I'm out. You weren't gonna help me at all, but you were going to make me do things for you until you didn't need me anymore." said taylor, her voice wavering because she was so nervous._

_Gabriella's shock wasn't showing on her face. She flipped her hair and gazed at Taylor. Taylor suddenly knew what was going to come next; Gabriella was reading her feelings. Gabriella opened her mouth to speak, and Troy cut in._

"_Just shut your mouth, you're such a fool," he spat. "I'm sick of hearing your voice. I'm sure you feel so proud and in control, just because you cheated your way into being captain."_

"_How did . . . you know?" gasped Gabriella. People were starting to mutter now._

"_You're not the only one who can read people like a book." Troy said seriously and took a step towards her. Taylor, Chelsea and Sharpay did the same, so the movement looked more impressive._

"_You just created trouble since you've been here." He began softly._

"_Which means everyone hates you." Chelsea smirked, unfolding her arms and placing her hands on her hips._

"_And you're not welcome at east high." Scolded Sharpay, clutching Troy's arm._

"_And you've made me feel like crap, just like a bunch of other people I don't know." Snarled Taylor, clenching her fists._

"_You've cheated on tests," piped up Kelsi._

"_You made Taylor practice late into the night, we know that too!" shouted Ally._

"_You keep reading people's thoughts like a freakin' psychic," stormed Jason._

"_If that's all true, we don't want you in our school." Summerized Chad, and he started a chant._

'_If that's so, you must go! If that's so, you must go!'_

_Everyone started chanting it, and soon enough, Gabriella burst out of the gym, crying in frustration. Everyone cheered loudly, knowing that no-one would hear from her again._

"_I bet she helped us to lose," said Adam, a guy on the soccer team. He flipped his fringe back, but not for style like Gabriella. Everyone knew that Adam's fringe always got in his eyes, and he'd been wanting to cut it for ages._

_"All this slinky shit with acrobatics – that's not a cheer! We couldn't play the damn game because she put us off. Everytime we looked at her she winked at us, like She thought she was SO amazing. Hell no!" And everyone agreed. That was when the celebrations began, even though East High weren't celebrating anything in particular. It was like they'd won!_

_X X X_

_And that week, Taylor started a beauty club in the school, doing makeovers for money, and teaching others beauty tips. She was helped by her two best buds, Sharpay and Chelsea, and Troy came along whenever he didn't have basketball._

_She gave the money to charity and got an award for 'good contributions to the school' or something weird like that. But Taylor didn't care. She showed the award to her parents and brainy siblings, and they were all proud of her._

_But more than anything, she had decided to stand against Gabriella instead of scheming with her._

_And that wasn't dumb a dumb thing to do._

_The truth of it was . . . Taylor wasn't dumb at all._

_AND she had a talent after all._

"Some girl's in the toilet. She's been in there for ages!"

Kelsi snapped back to reality. She'd been here for ages; it was probably time to go home!

Hurrying, she collected her things and left. As weary as she felt, the story was finally finished, and once again she got that feeling, the feeling of accomplishment that she got every time she finished a story.

She loved that feeling, and she loved writing stories.

She wasn't going to stop anytime soon.

* * *

**Okay. So, the story that took two chapters to complete is finally completed. What do you think? Was it worth making it so long?**

**Next chapter is not going to be a mini-story about who you'd expect, so start guessing!**

**Also, from now on it might take longer to get the stories out, 'cause I'm back at school. : ( boo school!**

**SYS, Folks!**

**Mzdarkstar x x x**

**P.S. SYS : See You Soon**


	7. ASTDPJTR

**Good morning, good day, good evening, good night, and welcome back to 'What if it went like this'! **

**Today, we're having a little taste of the characters you barely hear much about, the ones who are only around to make stories more realistic.**

**Ladies and gentlemen, I give you . . . the ADULTS! (****Lots of applause)**

* * *

**Recap**

Hurrying, she collected her things and left. As weary as she felt, the story was finally finished, and once again she got that feeling, the feeling of accomplishment that she got every time she finished a story.

She loved that feeling, and she loved writing stories.

She wasn't going to stop anytime soon.

"La la-la la . . . "

Kelsi let the hot water run over her bare skin. She had never enjoyed a simple thing like a hot shower so much, but her problems were so complicated, the feeling of release was welcome. Raising her head, she belted out;

I've never had someone

That knows me like you dooooooo

The way you doooooo

Suddenly, a loud male voice was booming from outside the bathroom door.

My daughter is so slow

At using the bathrooooooooom

Oh yes it's truuuuuuuuue

"Dad!" Kelsi squealed, recognising the voice. "I'd appreciate you NOT hanging around outside the door!"

"Well, I need to use the bathroom! Aren't you glad I'm back?" the voice drifted out to her. She quickly wrapped herself in a towel, then opened the door and threw herself into her Father's arms.

"Of course I'm glad! Your work trips always mean you're away for _ages_!" They hugged tightly, and then Mr Nielsen wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Smiling at her, he asked the question she'd been dreading.

"How's piano practice going? How's life in general?"

"Uh . . ." Kelsi's smile faded, as she tried to figure out the best thing to say. "Not so great, for both situations." She reeled off a whole list,

"School piano got broken, Mom gave our piano to Auntie, Ms Darbus is freaked at me for missing practice, Sharpay keeps stalking me and trying to get me to talk to her, Troy ignores my warnings, I can rarely find time to talk to Candi-"

"Woah, slow down, Kel. I'm sure you can find answers to all those problems if you look hard enough. I can get you some piano lessons, that won't be a problem. Why did you miss practice? Why does troy ignore you? Why is Sharpay 'stalking' you?"

Kelsi hung her head. She was writing stories instead of going to practice. She told Troy she hated Gabriella. She supposedly knew Sharpay's secret. It was all because of her.

"Dad . . . what would you do if you found a new hobby that you loved, and you became addicted to it? Like, other things in your life stared to fall apart?"

"Well, I probably not do the hobby so much, because there are things that might be more important." Mr Nielsen frowned. "Though if the hobby is taking drugs, that would explain the addictive part . . ." he raised his eyebrows meaningfully.

"Dad, who do you think I am?" Kelsi giggled, going to her room to get dressed for school. She caught sight of her navy-blue notebook, and felt a pang of guilt. She would do her best to repair her problems, but she wasn't going to stop writing stories. No Way.

HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM

When Kelsi walked into class the next day, everyone went quiet and looked at her. She walked over to her desk, and sat down without saying a word. Troy leaned over to her.

"Are you okay?" He asked Kelsi, who looked at him weirdly.

"Have you talked to Gabriella about what we talked about?" Kelsi asked Troy, with a tone of harshness in her voice. When he suddenly looked awkward and didn't meet her gaze, she said, "Didn't think so." and turned to face the front.

Ms Darbus strolled in, and her gaze travelled over the class, and rested on Kelsi.

"Ah, Miss Nielsen. Can you please explain your consistent absence from Drama practice? We are working towards a show here!"

"I can't practice without a piano." Kelsi said in a blunt tone, like she wasn't interested.

"That makes no difference to me Miss Nielsen. You need to know what you're doing, so that when we replace the piano, you are able to know when to play what."

"But there isn't one _now_! We need a piano _now_! It's pointless otherwise!" cried Kelsi, annoyance getting to her. Ms Darbus flung her shawl around her shoulder with a shocked look on her face.

"Nothing is pointless if it is to honour the art of performing! I don't think you understand, Miss Nielsen-"

"My name is Kelsi." She said, her annoyance snapping to anger, and her face started to go red. Ms Darbus stared. Not only had someone answered her back, it was a shy student like Kelsi.

"I think you need to cool off." She said slowly, and pointed to the door. "Please wait outside for a while, and when-"

"When you treat us teenagers like children, you can't expect us not to act childish!" she complained, and she went to the door.

From outside, she heard a snort from Chad, which turned into an ongoing laugh, and as usual, everyone joined in. Someone also started a chant 'Kelsi! Kelsi!' and a smile formed on her face.

HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM

"What are you doing out here?" said Sharpay, trotting towards her. She was holding many bags, and wearing lots of pink, including her sunglasses and hat.

"Ms Darbus said I was a bad little girl, so here I am. I think she's forgotten about me."

"You? _Bad_? You've gotta be kidding." She flicked her hair.

"Why are you so late?"

"Oh . . . just . . . problems. I didn't have any clothes to wear." She held up the bags.

"That's a problem?" puzzled Kelsi incredulously.

"A major one for me. I'll make up an excuse for Ms Darbus, she always buys it when you're her teacher's pet. Hey, listen . . ." Looking nervous, she said, "We have to talk."

"I know." agreed Kelsi, leaning against the wall. "About a certain secret I believe, because _everyone_ has been hassling me about it."

Sharpay looked at her strangely. "You . . . you don't even know what it is do you?" Kelsi didn't answer, only raised her eyebrows.

"Okay maybe you do," She quickly corrected herself, even though she wasn't correct. It was like she didn't want Kelsi to be cross with her.

"But I swear to you, I didn't mean for it to happen, I didn't even want to be there! It just . . . fell . . . smashed . . . how do you stopping a heavy thing like that? But honestly, it wasn't even me, I-"

"Sharpay, I don't know any secrets. I wanted you to tell everyone I had nothing to do with it, but now you've babbled this crap to me, it's not true anymore." Kelsi sighed. Sharpay looked at her in horror.

"I've . . . said too much . . ." she spluttered, and dashed into the class. Kelsi stared after her.

"On the contrary . . . you've said just about enough . . ." whispered Kelsi, who understood perfectly. Not only was Sharpay there when the piano was broken, she saw who did it.

HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM

Hanging around the auditorium, Kelsi was very bored. Everyone was, but Kelsi in particular had nothing to do.

"Bored?" came a cheeky and cheerful voice. Kelsi gloomily turned to see Candi, hair dyed bubblegum pink, grinning. They hugged, and Kelsi smiled at her.

"Definitely. You know, I don't get to see you anymore!"

"That's because you don't come to practice anymore, dummy!" laughed Candi. "Is Sharpay still causing trouble for you?"

"Nope, that's old news now." Kelsi told her. "This secret thing is giving everyone the idea that we're bum chums. Brilliant."

"It could be worse!" cried Candi, and they burst into peals of laughter.

Suddenly, Ms Darbus roared 'QUIET!' and everyone stopped talking, so you could clearly hear the voices of those on stage.

"I'm going to the back seats." Mumbled Kelsi, keeping an eye on Ms Darbus.

"Why?" Candi muttered back.

"I'm working on something. I'll be back . . ." Kelsi knew that to say 'soon' would be a complete lie, so she said " . . . in a while."

With that she snuck to the back seats. On the way, she saw Ryan, who gave her a smile that she returned. Behind him was Sharpay, who gave her one look of dismay and went scurrying off. _That's nice_, thought Kelsi glumly.

There were still lots of empty pages left in her Navy A5 Notepad, and turning to a new page, she titled it 'A.S.T.D.P.J.T.R.' and with a wave of fresh ideas, wrote;

_There's nothing wrong with physical attraction. People are falling in love or lusting after other people all the time._

_So what the big deal with teenagers doing it?_

_The deal is, adults and parents and generally nosy people, are always thinking teenagers with do something they'll regret. And sometimes they're right._

_Which is why __He__ started __The Group_

X X X

"_So . . . what is this group about?" asked Mr Nielsen, looking around._

_Other parents were there too, familiar ones. Mrs Montez, Mr and Mrs Evans, Mr and Mrs McKessie, Mr and Mrs Danforth, Mrs Bolton, and of course, their leader, the one who started the whole thing . . . Mr Bolton._

(**A.N. For those who don't know, in order it's; Gabriella's Mum, Sharpay and Ryan's Mum and Dad, Taylor's Mum and Dad, Chad's Mum and Dad, Troy's Mum, and then his Dad is mentioned after.**)

"_Well, you may know my son, Troy Bolton." began Mr Bolton._

"_Oh yeah," grumbled Mr Evans, "Sharpay goes on about him twenty-four seven!"_

"_Well, after a while, I became aware of how many different girlfriends he had in a week, and was bringing them home under my nose._

_I came home one night with my wife, and interrupted a . . . private get-together, let's say. It was the last straw. I started up ASTDPJTR, and have been recruiting members since. You can choose to put dots in-between the letters or not."_

"_It's not random letters," piped up Mr Danforth, "It does stand for something."_

"_It stands for 'the Adult Society of Teenage Dating Prevention and Justice to Teenage Rebels'." Mrs Bolton recited, and Mr and Mrs Nielsen looked nervously at each other._

"_But what do you __do__?" pressed Mrs Nielsen._

"_Allow me to explain." Mrs McKessie stood up, looking very classy and royal. As everyone looked at her, it was like they were looking at an older Taylor._

"_Teenagers can never understand what their true feelings and emotions are, or how to harness them. When they get out of hand, parents call upon us. Our usual job is to prevent teenage dating and deal with Rebels." Mrs Danforth stood up, and added,_

"_If they become a regular problem, sometimes the parents join the group, so they have access to the recourses needed to sort them out. Myself and my husband are here because Chad's a real player."_

"_Like Troy." Said Mrs Bolton._

"_Ryan's an angel, but Sharpay's a rebel." Growled Mr Evans. "Always getting up to no good with Gabriella."_

"_Which is why I'm here." Shrugged Mrs Montez. "My husband refused to join because he thought Gabi was an angel. Wouldn't hear a bad word against her."_

"_Also why we're here." Commented Mr McKessie. "Gabriella is influencing our Taylor." _

_Mr Bolton walked over to the couple and said darkly, "As you can see, Troy and Gabriella are our biggest problems, because their charm and charisma affects everyone else. Troy dates. Gabriella's a rebel. That's the crisis."_

_Everyone who was standing took a seat, and Mr Bolton lounged in the Master Chair, which was a big, comfortable armchair at the end of a long table. The other members sat around the table, and the Nielsen's stood at the other end._

"_So." Mr Bolton leaned back in his chair. "Why are you here?"_

"_Well . . ." Mrs Nielsen looked at her husband for support, before continuing, "We think Kelsi has been hanging around with a certain boy lately. We think she might be doing things . . . with this boy."_

"_Like kissing?" frowned Mr Bolton, playing with a pen in-between his fingers._

"_No." said Mrs Nielsen._

"_Oh, like making out?" guessed Mr Bolton, still playing with the pen._

"_No . . ." said Mrs Nielsen also frowning._

"_I have it!" cried Mr Bolton, stabbing his pen on the desk. "She's watching __porn__ with a boy!"_

"_No!" retorted Mrs Nielsen angrily, annoyed that he was thinking of the simplest things and making it a game. "I mean things that adults do . . ."_

"_What, like sex?_ _Why didn't you say so? We get that all the time, but they don't usually do anything. You were acting like someone had died, and I thought it might be something different for a change." Suddenly every member (the people sitting at the table) had a mobile-like device that went off._

"_It's a Dating Occurrence or Rebel Disruption Alarm!" said Mr Evans in surprise. "It's not Sharpay though, so it's hard for me to locate it!"_

"_I can," Stormed Mr Bolton "It's Troy. He's not being rebellious . . . he's with a girl . . ." He looked up at the Nielsen's and said,_

"_He's with Kelsi."_

X X X

_Left. Right. Straight ahead. Right. Right. Left. The Nielsen's couldn't keep track of all the different directions._

"_So . . . what happens? How do we stop them from meeting?" panted Mrs Nielsen._

"_They've already met, that's the problem." Answered Mr Bolton. "On missions like this, we would send the parents of the child. But you haven't joined yet, and I'm needed here. So my wife and Mrs Montez will act for Troy, Mr and Mrs Danforth will act for Kelsi."_

_Mr Bolton ushered the Nielsens, the McKessies, and the Evans into a big room, with lots of technology. Then he took out a communicator and spoke into it._

_::This is Chief Bolton. What is your position?:: Immediately, there was a reply of a male voice._

_::Danforth. Setting up Video cam outside restaurant with wife. :: The Nielsens did a double take._

_::Which Danforth?:: laughed Mr Bolton._

_::Which one do you think, fool?:: came Mr Danforth, laughing as well, as if they were sharing a private joke._

"_They went to a restaurant?" spluttered Mr Nielsen in surprise, when he'd finally found his voice._

"_Troy obviously wanted to impress the girl," concluded Mr McKessie._

"_Okay, Danforth has finished setting up Vid-cam." Cheered Mr Bolton, and told everyone to look at the big screen. A live video of Troy and Kelsi sitting by a window table of the restaurant appeared._

"_That's my dress!" stormed Mrs Nielsen. "How dare she!"_

"_They always do that," giggled Mrs Evan, looking like Sharpay for a moment._

_::Bolton reporting in. I'm sitting in the restaurant. ::_

_::Chief Bolton, I hear you honey. Where's Montez?::_

_::Montez reporting in. I'm sitting in a corner table with Bolton. The couple just ordered wine. ::_

"_Do you always refer to each other using surnames?" asked Mrs Nielsen._

"_Yep, it's easier." Brushed off Mr Bolton. The Nielsen gave each other a look that said, 'I don't bloody well think so!'_

"_Wait, did everyone just see that?!" proclaimed Mr Bolton. "Kelsi just had a sip of wine, and left her hand on the table. Now, either Troy's going to put his hand on hers in a minute, or I'm not a Bolton. Trust me."_

_::Chief Bolton here, are you there Bolton?::_

_::Bolton in. ::_

_::Honey, I need you to dart the wine glass, so it falls on Kelsi. ::_

"_But that will ruin my dress!" moaned Mrs Nielsen._

_Watching carefully, everyone saw the couple talking. Then Troy moved his hand, and at the same moment, something tiny flew over and hit the wine glass. It was so small and fast, the Nielsen's almost missed it, and the teenagers were so besotted with each other, they missed it completely. The wine glass toppled over, and Kelsi got up._

_::Danforth here. :: came a female voice. __::I know what you're thinking, and no, Kelsi is not leaving. She's gone to get tissues. ::_

"_Oh shit," muttered Mr Bolton._

_Then, when Kelsi was gone, a girl came and started flirting with Troy. She had put her hand on his arm, when Kelsi came back. Kelsi expression was very angry._

_::Chief Bolton here. That was lucky!::_

_::Montez. Not really, I paid the girl to go to him. ::_

_::Chief. Well done Montez! Look, she leaving now!::_

"_Mission accomplished." Said Mr Bolton, satisfied._

_::Not really. Montez here by the way. :: Mr Bolton was taken aback, as he spoke into his communicator._

_::What the prob, Montez?::_

_::My locater is showing Kelsi, and she's heading to my house, Gabriella's there. :: Mr Bolton groaned._

_::That's not all,:: Montez continued. ::I just got a lock-down of my house . . . Taylor and Sharpay are there too. ::_

_This time, when Mr Bolton groaned, everyone else joined in. Turning to the Nielsen's, he held out a form and said shrewdly,_

"_I strongly advise you join us now."_

X X X

_Well, that's a short story of what the ASTDPJTR was about. When Troy grew up, he carried on the group with his friends, but two months later, he got bored and disbanded it._

_And so, teenagers dated and rebelled in peace ever since._

Just after Kelsi wrote the last word, there came a little laugh from beside her. Snapping her head up, she saw Candi writhing in laughter, trying not to be loud and attract Ms Darbus' attention.

"Why do people always do that do me?" she said, annoyed. "How long have you been there?"

"More or less . . . from the beginning!" giggled Candi, her hand on her stomach. "I got here when you were halfway through the first page. You were so into it, you didn't even notice! Mr and Mrs Bolton, Mr and Mrs Evans . . . are those Troy's parents, and Sharpay and Ryan's parents?"

Kelsi nodded, unsure of how seriously Candi was taking this.

"Wow, you have a real talent for writing, that was hilarious! I loved the bit where the wine glass spilled all over you, that was too much. Do you usually write stories like that?"

"Yeah. Just something to do, really. I've never had someone to look at my work and say 'that's great!' or 'needs more work', so I'm never sure of how good these are . . ." Mumbled Kelsi, and Candi gazed thoughtfully at her.

"I know who you can go to!" said Candi excitedly. "Come!" she led Kelsi over to where Sharpay, Ryan, and Gabriella were and for a moment Kelsi thought there were going to stop there. But then they did stop there and Candi whispered excitedly,

"Hey, Ryan, I found you a new writing buddy!"

* * *

**As you can see, the mini-story (the story Kelsi wrote) was different than usual. Did you like that, or would you just prefer the main characters?**

**I'll try and get the next story updated soon. I've suddenly become really excited, because I took up where I left off with the 'who wrecked the piano' story and the 'Sharpay's secret' thing. Now, everything's fitting together!**

**Mzdarkstar x x x**


	8. Troy Bolton meets his match

**Well, I dunno about you, but I'm getting a real high from writing these stories, I'm turning into Kelsi herself!**

* * *

**Recap**

"Wow, you have a real talent for writing, that was hilarious! I loved the bit where the wine glass spilled all over you, that was too much. Do you usually write stories like that?"

"Yeah. Just something to do, really. I've never had someone to look at my work and say 'that's great!' or 'needs more work', so I'm never sure of how good these are . . ." Mumbled Kelsi, and Candi gazed thoughtfully at her.

"I know who you can go to!" said Candi excitedly. "Come!" she led Kelsi over to where Sharpay, Ryan, and Gabriella were and for a moment Kelsi thought there were going to stop there. But then they did stop there and Candi whispered excitedly,

"Hey, Ryan, I found you a new writing buddy!"

"For god's sake! Where the heck is Nielsen now?" screamed Ms Darbus, almost ripping out her hair from frustration.

"Oh . . . I think she went to the toilet." lied Candi quickly. But of course, you couldn't trust Sharpay Evans to keep her lipstick-painted mouth shut.

"No she didn't!" accusing Candi, while examining her nails. "She went off with Ryan. I always knew something was going on with those two."

"You stupid dyke! I bet you've always had a thing for her haven't you Shar?" smirked Candi, and everyone stared at her, shocked. Ms Darbus wasn't having any of it.

"Excuse me, I will not have you-"

"You're one sick freak, you know that? How dare you suggest I'm a lesbian . . . !" spat Sharpay, standing up.

"Oh sorry, I got the wrong one!" enticed Candi, deliberately aggravating the blonde headed girl. She didn't mean any of it, and knew Kelsi and ryan wouldn't mind when she told them.

"It's always been Ryan you've had a soft spot for . . . "

Sharpay got her things and left Candi giggling in the auditorium. Ms Darbus helpless watched her leave, then rounded on Candi.

"Candi Wade," she began, "I don't even _want_ to have to tell you-"

"I know _Mrs_ D." And she also left.

"That's _Ms Darbus_ to you young lady!" Ms Darbus bawled after her.

HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM

Kelsi walked to a table in the cafeteria. It wasn't Lunch break yet, but it soon would be, and then the masses of East high would start pouring in. She sat down, and so did Ryan Evans, who was with her.

"So . . . how long have you been writing?" he asked. Taking out some bits and bobs.

"I dunno . . . well, today's Monday, so, about a week?" she shrugged.

"And can you just write them on the spot, or do you have to be in the right frame of mind? For example, could you write a short story now?"

Kelsi looked at him, smiling a little. She wasn't used to Ryan being so inquisitive, but obviously he enjoyed being in charge for once.

"Yeah, I guess so." Ryan got out a thick notepad, and handed her a few pages he had ripped out the back.

"Fire away."

Kelsi tapped the pen on her forehead as she tried to get some ideas. Nothing.

Frowning, she thought harder, but she got no inspiration at all. Ryan was playing with his hat, and not really paying attention.

Then she caught sight of a bright and bold superman motif on the front of somebody T-shirt. Getting a inkling of a brainwave, she grabbed the idea and instantly started to expand it.

_Troy Bolton meets his match_

_Troy had always been 'The Star'. The one who took your breath away, the one who stole the show. No wonder he choose to go out with Sharpay Evans; she was his female equivalent, and so full of it._

_His passion was the Performing Arts as his father was an Actor, but when he tried basketball, it was an instant triumph. He was running for Basketball Captain, and no one would stop him from achieving his goal._

_No one._

"_Hey babe!" said Sharpay, as she delicately kissed him on the cheek. They were at her house, and she'd just finished getting ready. "We'd better hurry if we're gonna get to the party in time!"_

"_Is that gay brother of yours coming?" sneered Troy, and Sharpay frowned._

"_I prefer you not talking about my brother like that," said Sharpay disapprovingly, but Troy ignored her. They got in his car and drove to the party._

X X X

_There were many things to notice at this party._

_The first thing, was that the house was huge. The second thing was that there were loads of people there. And the third thing was that most of those people were crowded round something/someone that Sharpay and Troy couldn't see._

"_What's going on?" He asked Candi, who was an Art Student. She did photography with a group of people that loved art forms, and most of them wore French hats. (__**A.N. I think they're called that . . .)**_

"_New kid," she said shortly, studying the ruby-red wine in her glass._

_Troy pushed his way to the centre of the crowd, to get a look at this new kid._

_His skin was a rich colour, and he was wearing a casual shirt as well as black jeans. He had a cheerful face, and was well built. Lots of girls were lingering around, of course, wanting to get a look at him. Taking a good look at the guy, Troy held his hand out._

"_Troy Bolton," He said proudly, his eyes finally resting on the boy's hair, which was wild and puffy, a cool afro-style._

"_Chad Danforth." replied the boy, holding out his own hand, which Troy shook._

"_I bet you've heard of me," Troy smiled. Chad frowned and said,_

"_I don't think I have, no," and Troy's smile disappeared. "But I know Jack Bolton, he-"_

"_Yeah, he's my Dad," Troy cut across smoothly, and Chad gave a little smile, and started talking to another girl who Candi hung around with. He suspected her name was Kelsi, but didn't really care._

_Troy went to talk to his friends, but they were too interested in Chad. Troy wasn't used to being ignored. He tried to gain back Chad's attention._

"_I take after my Dad really," raved Troy, "I like to act, you see."_

"_People say the same about me and my Dad," said Chad casually, "I love to act too, but Dad didn't make a living from that."_

"_Well . . ." Troy went on desperately "I'm brilliant at basketball too!"_

"_I'm not to bad either," smiled Chad, "I get it from Dad."_

"_Wow, I know who you are now!" said Sharpay excitedly, "Your Dad is so and so Danforth! The famous b-ball player, you're his son!"_

_(Sorry, I don't know Chad's dad's first name)_

_Suddenly, everyone wanted autographs from Chad's dad, and Troy got irritated. He's no better than my dad, he though grumpily._

"_Okay then Danforth! If you're so great, let's have a game. You're the Captain of your team, I'm the Captain of mine."_

"_Okay," Chad shrugged, "Where's the game gonna be played?"_

"_East High gym," smirked Troy, "Best place to do it. And that's not all . . ."_

_Everyone waited for troy to finish what he was saying._

"_Whoever wins gets to be East high's basketball Captain." Everyone was silent. Troy made his way out, and as he did, he called back,_

"_The match is this time next week. You have that long to get your team into shape."_

X X X

_Troy had a hard time getting his team._

_So many people wanted to be on Chad's team, even after all the positions were filled. Troy's temper meant that all rational thought became irrational and unreasonable._

_Troy managed to get his team practice in the spacious gym, but even though Chad and his team disappeared to an unknown place, they seemed to be getting along fine._

_Troy had a feeling of doom in the pit of his stomach, and it wasn't going away. He wanted to make Chad look the fool, and he realised now, that putting the title of Captain into the bargain was stupid._

_But that wouldn't change the fact that he was going to win tomorrow. He had to._

X X X

_Chad was having a breeze. He loved basketball more than anything else, and his Dad helped him out with getting a place to practice. He even introduced his team to a few friends and had matches against them! It was difficult, but unbelievably fun._

_It seemed they were all set for the game tomorrow. Well, Chad was. And if Chad was, that was all the hope they needed to win._

"Are you done? We'd better get back to the auditorium to rehearse the Second Act of the show. Lunch break has started." Ryan's informative voice drifted into her head, and Kelsi finished the sentence and stopped writing.

"Yeah, we'd better go," Kelsi said, standing up. "You okay?"

"No, I forgot my hat!" Ryan moaned, raising a hand to his forehead. "It's the one I'm using in the next scene . . . I left it in the boys changing rooms . . ."

"You go then, I'll get it." Kelsi said, and Ryan gave a little laugh.

"But it's in the _boys changing rooms_!" he said incredulously. Kelsi put her notepad away and slung her bag over her shoulder.

"And . . . ?" she grinned, leaving the now packed cafeteria, and Ryan grinned back. She walked down the hallway, dodging people here and there, and wondering if anyone would be in there. When she got to the changing rooms, she quickly looked around, before darting into the boys changing room.

It was empty and clean, but then as strange as it is, sometimes boys are cleaner than girls. Or maybe the female cleaners just like them better.

She wasn't sure where Ryan's gym locker was . . .

(**A.N. I don't know if Americans have gym lockers, but in 'Bring it on' and 'John Tucker Must Die' they do, so sorry for stereotyping, but I wanted the story to be realistic. In my school, they just have benches.**)

. . . so she just looked around. On the bench farthest from the door, she spotted a red and white striped cap, which, by the way, looked hideous, and didn't suit Ryan at all, but then, acting is acting!

Of course, at that time, the Basketball players came in to change for their Lunch break practice, and Kelsi quickly hid behind some lockers.

" . . . pretty hot. Okay, okay she not that great, but . . ."

Kelsi couldn't figure out who was speaking, but she hoped he wasn't talking badly about her. She peeked round the last locker . . . and saw that Troy himself was talking! _He sounds different when he's with his cool friends _. . . Kelsi thought.

"Okay, forget her. What about . . . Kelsi?" asked Zeke eagerly, and Troy was in thought for a while, as everyone took a seat on the benches. Kelsi shook her head, finding it convenient that they would just 'happen' to be talking about her while she was around.

"Yeah, she's cute. But she's too good a friend to be anything else."

Kelsi stomach lurched. Troy said she was _cute_! But even so, she was glad he thought of her as a friend; she didn't want to ruin their friendship, and neither did he apparently.

"Gabriella?" ventured Zeke slyly, and Troy said she was really nice, blushing a little as he did so. None of the other guys picked up on it though; they were too busy saying how hot Gabriella was.

Kelsi wrinkled her nose in disgust. None of the boys knew the _real_ Gabriella.

"What about you Chad? You've been quiet! What do you think of Gabi?" joked Troy. Chad shrugged.

"Got nothing to say about her."

"Go on!" urged Zeke.

"Well . . . to be honest, I think . . ." Chad bent down to tie the laces on his right basketball trainer. "She's a witch. I hate her."

It was said so casually, that the other b-ball boys looked at Chad in shock, and Kelsi covered her mouth with her hand in surprise. Chad also hated Gabriella?

Troy was in shock for a full minute, then it rapidly switched to rage.

"Take that back," he said, angry. The others just watched. Chad finished his right foot, and looked at Troy for a second, before moving onto his left.

"No. Why? It's true. Anyone decent would _know_ it's true."

"Actually . . . I thought she was pretty hot," said Zeke nervously. Jason patted his back and whispered,

"Dude, I don't think now is the time . . ."

"Actually, now's a perfect time." Chad went on coolly. "Let's have it all out, shall we? Everyone tell me what _you_ know about Gabriella Montez, and then I'll tell you what the hell _I_ know. She-is-a-backstabber." Chad finished the other foot, and stood up, now also angry.

Troy glared at him, fists clenched, then his whole body relaxed and he just gazed sadly at his best friend.

"Chad . . . why? You know how I feel about her . . ."

"And now _you_ know _I_ feel." Finished Chad, with a tone that meant the conversation was over, and he made his way to the door. However, Troy wouldn't let it go.

"You're hiding something from me." Troy said blankly. "Tell me what you're hiding." Chad ignored him, and put his hand on the doorknob.

"TELL ME!" Troy roared, and Kelsi jumped, now feeling a little scared. She wished she wasn't here, of all the places she could have been. She should be in the _auditorium_ right now!

Clutching Ryan's cap, she peeked round the locker again. Troy's face was pained, Chad had his back to everyone and his hand on the doorknob, and the boy's faces were stunned.

"If I did, you wouldn't believe me or understand." Said Chad quietly. "You have to see to understand. I can't make you see, Troy. You have to _want_ to see."

"You're just like _Kelsi_," Troy spat, resentment and loathing in his voice. Chad shook his head and left. The silence lingered in the changing rooms.

_Just like_ _Kelsi_ . . . Those words cut Kelsi so deep, for a few seconds she felt like she couldn't breathe. Clutching at her chest, she leaned against the lockers and slid down to the floor.

Suddenly, Kelsi felt she needed to leave immediately, to catch up with Chad. She had to talk to him. She wasn't going to wait for everyone to leave so that she could. She was going _now_.

Scrambling up, and rushing out from her hiding place, she raced to the door. The boys snapped back to reality. They yelled in shock and surprise, and some of them shrieked like girls, clutching clothes to their bare upper half. Kelsi was just glad none of them had bare _lower_ half's!

Kelsi reached the door and wrenched it open, but not before he heard an anguished cry.

"Kelsi!"

Troy. She shook her head, not wanted to hear anything else from him.

When she got outside, Chad was a little way away from the door, breathing slowly. Kelsi looked at him. He did realise she was there, even though she was only about a meter away from him. She slowly walked up to him, and as he looked up she hugged him.

"What's this for?" He said in surprise. She didn't answer his question, but said,

"When Troy said you're like me, it's because I told him I didn't like Gabriella either. It's because you understand. I'm sorry for being so mean to you on Friday." She let go of him, and looked into his eyes deeply. "Thanks for understanding." And Chad smiled.

He was sad, she knew, and he hated fighting with his best friend, especially over a girl. Linking arms, they slowly walked to the auditorium.

They didn't speak, not because they had nothing to say, but because first the first time, Chad and Kelsi knew just what the other wanted to say.

It was good to have someone like that.

_Troy put on his jacket, and started waling down the hallway. He'd had enough. He was going. Now, everyone thought he was-_

"_Hey!" Troy spun around. It was Chad._

"_Good game," he smiled, and Troy scowled at him._

"_Well, yeah, obviously it would be for you, because you won!"_

_Chad smile faded at he took a step closer. "Why do you hate me so much?"_

"_Because you already have everything I've worked my whole life for," said Troy bitterly. "And even my friends are drifting away from me. It's bad enough that my Dad is never around and never has time for me, but without my friends . . ."_

"_You're nothing." Finished Chad, and Troy nodded. "Troy . . . do you think I got what I wanted just like that? I had to work to earn my status as well, no matter who my dad is. What I don't understand is . . . why we can't be friends. It sounds to me that we could use each other as a friend."_

_Troy turned around to face him, giving Chad a smile. "Yeah . . . I guess so."_

_Can you guess what happened next? You think Troy and Chad skipped off into the horizon and lived happily ever after? Not quite._

_That very evening, they spent five hours talking about basketball and acting, and got into mega trouble. Not to mention the amount of arguments they had in the years of their friendship. Troy always got jealous of chad once in a while, and Chad always got pissed with troy for stealing his girlfriends __because__ he was jealous._

_But it was a good friendship. Everything was fine, especially for Mr Bolton and Mr Danforth. It was their idea to get the boys to go to the same party! Of course, no one could have predicted whether they would become friends or not, but they did in the end. _

_All was good._

"Kelsi Nielsen!" shrieked Ms Darbus. Everyone was hanging around, but the moment Kelsi came in, they got up. They knew something big was going to happen.

"I have had enough of your ignorant attitude young lady! I understand there may not be much to do, but I do _know_ you have a life! I would not summon you here for no reason!"

Kelsi didn't know what to say. She was unprepared, and aware that she'd gone a bit too far. This could be the end of her career. She glanced at Chad for support, but he was as surprised and anxious as she was.

"This is the last straw. I have no choice be to-"

"If you're gonna kick me out, let me save you the trouble." Said Kelsi sadly.

"I quit. I'll just leave and save everyone the trouble of putting up with Kelsi Nielsen shall I?" she rambled, wanted to scream in frustration and burst into tears at the same time. She didn't want to be told to leave; she'd rather do it on her own account.

With that, Kelsi turned on her heel, and trailed back the way she came, with Chad's arm round her shoulders in comfort. She knew everyone was looking at her whispering, wondering why.

She loved the performing acts, and she loved acting. But more than those, she loved playing the piano, but now that love had gone and been replaced by a love for writing.

Because of that, she'd managed to ruin everything, but it was the broken piano that had started it all.

Wiping a lone tear from her eye, she made a mental note. An urgent mental note.

She had to talk to Sharpay.

* * *

**So! What do you think will happen next? Possible Chelsi, or probable Ryelsi? Only time will tell. **

**Did you guess that someone else also dislikes Gabriella? I hope you don't think I'm making her the 'baddie', I'm really not. She just has a few faults!**

**I also hoped you liked the mini story. When I was doing ASTDPJTR, I had loads of ideas, but the moment I started this chapter, they all went out of my head. That's why it had a cheesy ending!**

**Next Chapter should be up by . . . next week, I think.**

**Mzdarkstar x x x**

**P.S. The part where it said that 'I don't know what Chad's Dad's name is', is Kelsi's note, not mine. My notes are in bold, and tagged with A.N. (meaning Author's Note), just so you know.**


	9. The Drama Club's Dilemma

**Hello! I was so excited to start writing this chapter, and putting it up now, is even more exciting . . . I hope you're excited as I am right now!**

**This chapter . . . is slightly different to usual, and you'll see why when you've finished reading.**

**So read, enjoy, and review!**

* * *

**Recap**

She loved the performing arts, and she loved acting. But more than those, she loved playing the piano, but now that love had gone and been replaced by a love for writing. 

Because of that, she'd managed to ruin everything, but it was the broken piano that had started it all. 

Wiping a lone tear from her eye, she made a mental note. An urgent mental note.

She had to talk to Sharpay.

Zeke and Jason raced to the cafeteria. Chad was there. He _had_ to be there.

He was talking to Kelsi, and had a grim expression on his face, and so did Kelsi herself. They couldn't help but notice that Kelsi was holding a particularly ugly red and white cap, and exchanged amused glances.

"Chad, dude!" called Zeke, desperate. They ran up to the two, panting.

"Please come back Chad!" pleaded Jason. "Without you, everyone's really serious, nobody smiles anymore. Basketball has stopped being a game, and turned into some sort of chore. When we kept missing the ball, Troy yelled at us, then skulked off by himself."

"Dude, it's so weird, it's _scary_. With the Coach off sick, and Troy wandering off, the game kinda subsided, so we came here." Zeke and Jason looked at Chad, who's face was blank. Kelsi looked worriedly between them all.

"Chad, can we talk to you?" Zeke said, and then glancing at Kelsi, added "Like, now? Privately? No offence Kelly."

"I'm gonna go to where the Drama Club is then," Kelsi pursed her lips, taking the hint. "And it's Kelsi." They watched her walk away, as delicate as always.

"What is it with you and her?" asked Zeke, still watching the girl who used to be so simple. "Like, what happened in the classroom and stuff? We thought she told you that you were gonna die or something! You looked horrified and ran out . . ."

"Nothing's going on," said Chad, "We just realised we had something in common . . . it's not a good thing. It's just . . . she's strange . . . she knows a lot of things she shouldn't, and she's changed a lot. Did you hear about what happened in the auditorium?"

"Duh, everyone heard!" nodded Jason, "But we were in practice at the time. Were you there?"

"Yup. Ms Darbus got all stressed, and was about to fire Kelsi when Kelsi said she quit." Chad gave a shrewd little smile. "Yeah, nobody saw it coming. We thought she loved the performing arts, but I guess she just didn't care anymore . . ."

"Woah . . . that's deep!" breathed Zeke dramatically, and Jason nodded before saying,

"But Chad . . . you shouldn't have said those things to Troy."

"I just told him I didn't like her!" yelped Chad.

"You did more than that," said Jason grimly. "You said she was a witch and a backstabber. What's going on? Is there something you're not telling us?" Chad shuffled his feet. "You can tell us . . ." he added softly.

"It's a long story . . ." he sighed. They stood there for a while silent, feeling drawn apart by Chad's reluctance to tell them. They had always been close friends. What had changed?

They heard several people talking loud at the drama table. Then Jason spoke. "Anyway, we should go find the guys, they might be waiting for Troy, or they could just be practising ball techniques."

By the time Jason had finished speaking, Kelsi had reappeared, looking quite angry. Zeke and Jason were glad that they were leaving. They called as they left,

"Bye Chad!"

"See you, man!"

"Bye guys!" Chad called back. "What happened?" He asked Kelsi, glancing back at the Drama Table, who seemed to be in some sort of debate.

"Long story," she muttered, but told it anyway.

HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM

When Kelsi left, she went to talk to the Drama club.

It was Sharpay and Gabriella whispering, Ally and Candi arguing, Ryan looking worried because he wasn't wearing a hat (Kelsi still hasn't given him the ugly cap yet), and some other people Kelsi didn't really know that names of yet.

As soon as they saw her, they began talking rapidly.

"Kelsi!" whimpered Sharpay, "Ms Darbus is in a major fit! Now we have no pianist, we'll have to re-write at least a third of the play!"

"What? Oh . . . well . . ." panicked Kelsi, feeling bad for causing such a problem, "I'm sorry, but I'm not hanging around doing nothing, to be shouted at for doing nothing. It's not my problem anymore."

"Do you know how selfish you're being?!" cried Gabriella, wringing her hands. "By shrugging off a problem of yours, you've made ours ten times worse!" Kelsi turned her face to her, and said coldly,

"I said I'm sorry. What much more do you want from me? I can't do anything else for the show without a piano, it's fact." With that, Kelsi pointed looked at Sharpay, who went a bright red, but nobody noticed.

"I don't think you _are_ sorry." Fumed Gabriella, clenching her fists. "You don't even care about the rest of us, who have to work twice as hard because you don't want to work at all!"

"How could you say that?!" Kelsi shouted at her. She had never disliked somebody so much in her life. "You have no idea how much it meant to me! If it's so much of a problem for you, why don't you quit?"

"Hey, lay off the girl!" said Candi before Gabriella could say anything else. She frowned at Gabriella a little. "Of course she feels bad, but what's done is done."

"But what's been done is something selfish," sulked Sharpay, "If it meant so much to her, she wouldn't have always gone off somewhere in our rehearsal time. Now me and Gabriella won't get to do our duet!"

Suddenly Kelsi got a flashback . . .

"_I . . . just wanted to know if . . . uh . . ." _

_A pause, and then Gabriella blurted it all out. _

"_If you could practice that audition song with me. I sorry to ask and I know you're busy but we haven't had any time and it's better with a piano, I can't even imagine how much Sharpay is practising and I have to sing with her, and maybe you could help us practise together . . ."_

_So the audition song was actually in the show?_ thought Kelsi, before she drifted back to the conversation, and heard that Ryan was speaking.

"Ms Darbus was hard on her, you have to admit. Anyone would be pressured into quitting!"

"Not me, I'm not a quitter, thanks very much!" said Sharpay huffily, now folding her arms. "Who asked your opinion anyway?"

"Who asked yours?" snapped Ryan, and Sharpay looked at him, taken aback at his fierceness. He didn't usually stand up to her.

"This isn't going anywhere!" said Ally loudly. "All we're doing is arguing with each other!"

"I'm so glad your pea-sized brain could realise that," smirked Candi, and the two exchanged hard glares.

"Everyone is losing sight of what this conversation was MEANT to be about!" shouted Suzy. (**A.N. Do you remember her? If not, she's in the mini-story in Zeke's Cupid Catastrophe**) Everyone stopped talking and listened to what Suzy had to say, as she didn't speak often. She turned to Kelsi with a hard gaze.

"You've left us in a big mess. You don't wanna come back? Fine. But you have to help us make this show as good as possible, because I am _not_ looking like a fool in front of an audience of over 100 people. Okay?"

"I . . ." Kelsi didn't really want to, but she felt she owed it to them. At that moment, there was a loud yelp from Chad, he said something like 'I just told him I didn't like her'. Was he talking about when he told Troy he didn't like Gabriella?.

"No, that's _not_ okay," said Candi, sticking up for her. "I'm sorry, but no. Why should she have to? She quit, so she's got nothing to do with this anymore. I say we all do the same and end this god-forsaken crap."(**A.N. Or is god-forsaken one word?**)

"No!" shrilled Sharpay, Gabriella and Ally in unison. Suzy didn't say anything, but looked down at her hands on the table.

"Yes." said Ryan in a bored voice, looking weary, and everyone looked at him, truly shocked. "I'm sick and tired of doing this again and again. Let's do this right or end it." Candi nodded approvingly.

"Here's what I propose." Ryan sat up straight and looked everyone in the eye, one by one. "We can only 'do it right' with a piano. That's how the show was supposed to be done. So either we find a way to raise money for a new piano, or we bring the rehearsals to a close."

"That might . . . be the only way to go," said Ally slowly, after she thought about it.

"No! We don't need a piano!" said Gabriella.

"Then you're contradicting yourself." Candi sniffed. "_You_ were the one complaining about writing a third of the show! Well, you and Sharpay."

"Why doesn't mouse-girl just get another piano and play for us?" muttered Sharpay.

"Threaten me and you'll regret it," said Kelsi fiercely. "I've had enough of this. I'm going." And throwing the striped cap to Ryan, who delightedly put it on, she went to rejoin Chad, leaving the others in their heated debate.

HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM

Chad and Kelsi went to the upstairs laboratories, while there was still a bit of Lunch break left.

"Why are we coming here?" asked Chad.

"We're going to have a little chat with Taylor." Replied Kelsi ad Chad stopped in his tracks, looking a bit startled.

"I can't talk to her," he said, and when Kelsi said not to worry, he shook his head.

"No, I really can't talk to her. When you told me to go and find her . . . last Friday . . . I did, and we talked a bit. I think she believed me but maybe we should just stay away from each other for a while . . ."

Kelsi gazed at Chad blankly, before saying, "If you don't get your butt in that room right now, I'll kick you in!"

Chad raised his hand in surrender, muttering grumpily, but went in.

Of course, it looked like how a lab was supposed to look, with the chemicals and diagrams and lab tables . . . with the exception of it being full of scientists.

The only 'scientist around was Taylor in a corner, goggles on, white lab coat on, hair tied back, and watching a liquid that was giving off a strange coloured gas. She looked up at Kelsi, thenher gaze slid to the person standing next to her.

"Hi." She whispered, her eyes on Chad.

"Hey." He whispered back, not moving. Kelsi gave a little smile at their reactions, and said,

"Taylor, I brought Chad here because there's something we need to sort out. Something to do with the both of you – and Gabriella."

Suddenly, both of their attentions snapped off each other.

"I don't want to talk about her," said Taylor in disgust.

"Me neither. She's lied to me from the beginning. _That's why I don't like her_." Said Chad, folding his arms.

"Huh? What do you mean?" said Kelsi. Chad lingered around the lab, looking at the different things in it. He took his time, and the girls felt that a story was coming on.

"We've been talking to each other, mainly because she likes to hang around with Troy. She used to come an awful lot, but now she doesn't come so much, thank God. People thought it was because she'd gone off Troy. She hadn't really . . . she'd just found something better to do.

"Anyway, one day we got talking, and she asked me if I liked you." He motioned at Taylor. "Obviously, I said yes. And she said . . . you didn't like me back."

Taylor gasped Kelsi clapped a hand to her mouth.

"What?" said Kelsi in shock.

"Why would she say that?" cried Taylor, taking her goggles off.

"I don't know, but either way I knew it wasn't true because I'd spoken to you that same morning." Taking a breath, he went on.

"So on Friday, I left my basketball in the back of the class before Ms Darbus' lesson, and anyone in their right mind wouldn't _not_ bother to go back and get an basketball, c'mon, it's like a trophy."

The girls giggled, and Chad smiled.

"So I went back and Gabriella followed me, I didn't realise at the time. Then we got talking and she started telling me all the crap about you, so I grabbed her shoulders and was about to yell at her when you came in."

"Bad timing." Kelsi shook her head. "Bad luck." Taylor bowed her head, cursing herself.

"I know." Chad breathed heavily. "Anyway, after that, she said quietly that it was 'over now', so 'don't bother go after you', and went off. She's such a . . . annoying . . . brown-haired . . . Barbie doll look alike . . . smelly . . ."

"Chad, if you can't find a suitable insult for her, don't bother trying!" laughed Kelsi.

"Yeah, let me find one for you." stormed Taylor. "She's a two-faced back-stabber!"

"Hey, that's what I said!" said Chad

"No you didn't," frowned Taylor, "You said she was a Barbie doll."

"No before! You heard me Kelsi, didn't you! In the boy's changing rooms!"

Taylor raised an eyebrow at Kelsi. "I'm not even gonna ask!" Kelsi looked pointedly at the ground, unable to stop herself laughing along with Chad.

"Anyway, Gabriella's just been saying to me how you didn't like me, and that was before you talked to me. She said crap about 'studies being more important that boys' and how they 'only broke your heart'. She fed me a whole load of rubbish and I believed her. What a load of shit!"

"Ummmma! Taylor swore!" Chad gasped overdramatically like Zeke did earlier, then he saw Taylor's face and apologised.

"It tore me apart when I saw the two of you. I thought she was just saying that stuff to keep me away from you, so she could have you to herself or something.

"That made me mad, because she was always running off with Sharpay, and Candi was there once too, and told me to tell Troy that he'd missed her already. Troy tried so hard for her, and it's not fair on him. It's going to break his heart, but I'm going to tell him about Gabriella."

"Good luck then," snorted Chad. "Me and Kelsi have already tried. He can't see it, because he doesn't want to. You used to be her best friend, so if you can't make him see reason, I don't know who can."

"Well, we have to try." sighed Taylor, looking back at the liquid. It was giving off gas anymore, just foul smell. Kelsi and Chad held their noses, and Chad choked,

"What the hell _is _that? It _stinks_!"

"Eww, let's get out of here." She said, wrinkling her nose. So they did just that.

HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM

Everyone who said that Chad and Kelsi were getting together ended up biting their tongue by the end of the day, because Chad and Taylor were so inseparable, it was obvious they were an item.

They kept giving Kelsi sneakily little glances in classes, and it made her giggle, because they all had a special secret.

Kelsi remembered earlier that day when she thought that it was nice to have someone who understood what she felt on her side. Now she had two people, and soon enough, she was sure that others would understand too. She just needed to open their eyes.

At the end of school, she was walking down the hallway and ended up passing her locker. She went to it and opened her bag to see if there was anything she needed to put in, and then she caught sight of it.

The Navy A5 Notepad.

Her anger welled up inside her so much, she almost screamed and ripped the book into pieces. She loved writing, but it was causing such a problem. She didn't want to feel so addicted to writing. She wanted to stop before things got worse.

Looking at the book with disgust, she chucked it forcefully into her locker, and slammed it shut. She didn't even want to look at it; she'd felt so cheerful a moment ago, but now she felt just like she did in the auditorium. Angry and upset.

She kept walking down the hallway, and near the end she caught sight of a bunch of basketball players, and some of them were looking at her. One of those lookers was Troy, and he was looking and her, his expression set and hard, almost like he wasn't sure how to act.

'You're just like _Kelsi_.' Even now those word echoed back in her head. Simple words, but the way Troy said her name . . . like she was stupid or dirty or . . . or like he didn't believe a word she said.

Kelsi looked away. She didn't want to look at him either.

HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM

"Hey, Kel!" came a voice from her bedroom door. She looked up. Mr Nielsen.

"Hi Dad."

"I know you're not feeling too hot today, but I've got good news!"

Kelsi sat up, more interested. "Really? What!"

Mr Nielsen jumped into the room, leaving the door wide open, and waved a piece of paper about.

"I got you . . . piano lessons!" he said excitedly. "Well, not really proper lessons, but you'll be able to go and use the piano!"

Kelsi looked at him blackly. Was that it? She didn't care about that anymore . . .

"What's wrong? Don't you want to go?" Mr Nielsen asked, a little disappointed and her lack of excitement.

"Of course I do, Dad, thank you!" she said hurriedly and gave him a hug.

_What's wrong with me?_ She thought. _My Dad probably went through a lot of trouble to get this for me, I should be grateful_.

"Where is it?" She asked.

"Umm . . . I have the address here . . ." Mr Nielsen searched the paper. ". . . somewhere . . ." He kept searching.

"Well, anyway, it's the house of a woman with two children. One's about eight, he shouldn't get in your way, and the other is about your age, I think, a girl that goes to your school."

"Maybe I know her. What's the woman's name?" asked Kelsi.

"I think her name is Cassandra, but she calls herself Cassie Wade."

Kelsi's mouth opened in surprised.

Wade. Cassie Wade . . . Candi Wade . . .

Cassie Wade was Candi's mother.

* * *

**Wooooo! Chapter 9! How was it? I hope you didn't mind not having a mini-story, but Kelsi wouldn't have written one in her current situation, she's too angry with herself.**

**Now you can see the difference between this chapter and the others . . . this one has no mini-story, like C1.**

**Sorry to disappoint the Chelsi fans out there . . . but I think I might pair her with someone else! Keep guessing.**

**Don't worry I'll try to make the next mini-story a fun one, but I might not have it out for a while, depending on how much free time I have.**

**Mzdarkstar x x x**


	10. Ryan's Glamorous Genie

**Hello, once again! I had to get my head in check, because I wrote C10 straight after C9, but I'm posting it separately, so there's an even-ish gap. **

**Trust me, it can get a little confusing, you have to remember that your readers are at a different part of the story than you are.**

**Well, I hope you like this chapter!**

* * *

**Recap**

"Maybe I know her. What's the woman's name?" asked Kelsi.

"I think her name is Cassandra, but she calls herself Cassie Wade."

Kelsi's mouth opened in surprise. 

Wade. Cassie Wade . . . Candi Wade . . .

Cassie Wade was Candi's mother.

Ding-dong. No answer. Wait.

Ding-dong. No answer again. The bell isn't working . . . ?

Knock knock. Movements this time. Shouts. Yells. Footsteps.

The door opened.

"Hiya babe, you must be Kelsi! Did your Dad bring you?" came the voice. Kelsi blinked and took in the sight.

She was quite young, for a Mum, (**A.N. Sorry, Mom**) and her hair was bright red, a rich scarlet, and Kelsi was in awe straight away. She was wearing the clothes that young girls might wear, like out-going clothes, but it suited her well.

"Um, no, I walked, it's only a few blocks." Stammered Kelsi, nervous at this woman's bubbly-ness.

"Okay, well, I'm Cassie Wade. Come to the garage, that's where all the instruments are."

Cassie led Kelsi to the garage, and the moment she saw it, her mouth issued a loud 'wow' before she could stop it.

Colour everywhere. Acoustic guitars, electric guitars, keyboard, piano, drum set, microphones, it was amazing. Everything had it's own space, so the garage looked a lot bigger than it was.

"So there's the piano," Cassie pointed at it, "So feel free to drop by, get the key, and play when you like."

"Mrs Wade . . . you've only just met me, but you're treating me like a family friend. " asked Kelsi suspiciously.

"But you are!" Cassie grinned, and two people came into the garage. A teenage girl with bright pink hair and a child boy with blue highlights.

"Hey kel," Grinned Candi like her mother, and gave her a hug.

"So this is her!" said the boy. "I'm Charlie, by the way, but don't call me that. Just call me Charm or something, I don't mind. I wanted my hair dyed too like Mom and Candi, but Mom won't let me." The boy pulled a face.

"God knows why he called himself that," Candi said, rolling her eyes. "I call him Charzard, so you can call him what you want, Kelsi."

"Well, nice to meet you!" smiled Kelsi, and Candi said,

"We all shortened our names. Cassandra to Cassie, Charlie to . . . whatever, and Candice to Candi."

"I never knew your name was shortened! I thought it was your actual name!" Kelsi exclaimed, and Candi grinned. Somehow, she reminded Kelsi of Troy. Confident and quite intimidating, but she didn't care much about her rep, which is how she got so popular!

Getting bored, the boy went and started playing on the drum set. He was quite good for an eight year old. Candi hurried to a guitar and played the tune, and Cassie played the bass line on another guitar.

Kelsi found herself nodding her head to the beat. What a musical family!

"Okay, stop showing off now," Candi said, and abruptly stopped playing. She usually got tired of things fairly quickly. "Did you like it?"

"It was . . ." before Kelsi could finish; her mobile (**A.N. Sorry again, cell**) rang.

"Hello?"

"Thank god I reached you, you'll never believe what just happened!" came Taylor's voice, breathless and eager.

"You talked to Troy?" asked Kelsi, a little taken aback by Taylor's unusual attitude.

Candi dramatically mouthed 'Oh my gosh, you talked to _Troy Bolton_?' then mimed fainting. Kelsi poked her. Taylor, who obviously wasn't around to see that, went on,

"Well duh! I waited after school until he finished basketball practice, then I told him a bit of the truth, to see how'd he react."

"What did he say?"

"At first he said I was jealous. I know! Jealous of _Gabriella_? I admit, she's amazing and talented, but jealous? Per-lease. So anyway, I said I didn't care what he _thought_, I just wanted him to know the truth. Then he said I was twisted and delusional."

"No way!"

"Yes way."

"A way?" came another voice, and it started to laugh. "Run away far away?"

"Shut up, Chad." scolded Taylor, and he went on laughing. "Anyway, I wished he hadn't said that, because Chad went nuts. He almost beat Troy to death!"

"He deserved it," Chad voice uttered in the background, suddenly not laughing anymore, and had a dark tone o it. "How dare he say that to you?"

"Chad, maybe he did deserve it, but that's not really for you to decide . . ." said Taylor.

"So then, Gabriella came and put her big fat foot in it, telling Chad to stop. Troy didn't fight back at first, he was too stunned, but then he did fight back. When Chad didn't stop, Gabriella said 'Taylor, make him stop!' and I said . . . I said . . ."

"What?" said Kelsi softly. Taylor sounded like she was choking.

"I said 'why?'. I was so angry at her . . . but Troy didn't . . . Chad shouldn't . . . I should've . . ."

Chad's voice was heard in the background, "Jeez, Tay, don't cry, he had it coming! Ignorant ass. Calm down . . ."

Kelsi listened as they were muffling noise, and then Chad's voice could be heard properly as he took the phone.

"She'll calm down soon. We're walking home now anyway. Where are you?" Kelsi wasn't sure what to tell him, so she said

"At my piano tutor's house."

"Awesome! You're doing piano again! That's pretty cool . . . What's Sharpay's secret?" said Chad casually, trying to catch Kelsi out, and Kelsi said absent-mindedly,

"Can't say."

Taylor and Chad gasped.

"So there is a secret!"

"You said there wasn't!" Hearing their protests, Kelsi sighed.

"It's a long story, probably because it's the same story that got me into this mess," Kelsi said goodbye and hung up.

"You done?" said Candi. "Finally. Now we can do some jammin'!"

HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM 

Tuesday morning, Kelsi woke up. She went through the usual routine, make bed, brush teeth, have shower, etc. After that, she decided to have breakfast before packing her school bag.

When she'd finished breakfast, she went upstairs to her bag.

She opened it.

She shrieked.

"Kelsi! My god, sweetie, are you okay? You scared the daylights out of me!" gasped Mrs Nielsen from downstairs.

"Um . . ." said Kelsi standing away from her bag, gazing at the navy A5 book she knew so well, the one she'd sworn that she'd chucked in her locker yesterday.

"I'm fine . . ."

HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM 

"Oh my god!" screamed Sharpay, furious. She was the first person to speak after herself and everyone around had stood staring for five minutes. Of course, that meant that loads of people were gathered at the doors of the school, so the people behind couldn't really get in. (**A.N. sorry, but that is just funny. I can imagine it now . . .**)

Kelsi was standing beside Ryan, who was standing beside Sharpay. All everyone could do . . . was look at the absolute mess.

Every single locker was flung open, and the contents lay on the floor, everywhere all down the hallway. Now that Sharpay had broken the silence, people were starting to talk.

Kelsi, with a sudden jolt, wondered if anything had been taken from her locker. She broke away from the still crowds and ran.

Just like Sharpay speaking, now that the first person had moved, everyone started running around, looking for their things, treading on each other's toes and fingers.

It was a riot!

Kelsi got to her locker. It too had been broken open, and nothing was inside. Suddenly, Kelsi realised that when she put the Navy Book in yesterday, there was nothing else inside, so she was fine. But how did the book get to her bag? Kelsi frowned her way to class.

HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM 

Class was horrible.

Ms Darbus acted normal towards her, because as a teacher she had to, but Kelsi was sure Ms Darbus wanted to throttle her. Kelsi couldn't even meet her eyes out of guilt.

She was so glad when Lunch break came, and she immediately went to seek out Candi.

"Hey! What's up?" asked Candi casually, chomping on a piece of pink gum.

"Everyone's going nuts about the locker thing, and Ms Darbus is really angry with me, even though she's not showing it."

"Well, of course she's angry, you, like, violated the art of performing, or some shit like that. As for the locker thing . . . did you see the notebook in your bag? It's dark blue, about half a page of A4, I think. It is yours, isn't it?"

"What, you put it there?"

"Duh!" Kelsi gave a huge sigh o relief, glad that she wasn't going crazy, and Candi rolled her eyes. Kelsi giggled and thought, _if she keeps rolling her eyes like that, they'll fall out!_

"You quit the show, so you didn't have after school rehearsals. You had time to go to your house and then to my house straight after." Candi paused, blowing a bubble with her gum, and then she continued.

"I, however, had to do after school rehearsal, then when everyone had left, I ran into Adam from the soccer team. He said that Mickey, Dave, and Kennedy are doing a locker raid, and that I should get out anything valuable. So I broke into yours, hope you don't mind."

"No, I guess not, thanks," said Kelsi, feeling relieved. She'd hate if someone found the book lying in the hallway!

"Gotta run Hun, got Rehearsal. Are you coming over, after school? You didn't even get to play the piano yesterday, Charzard hogged it the whole time."

"Yeah, I might as well. See you!"

"Ciao." Replied Candi coolly, and she left. (**A.N. I think that's pronounced 'Chow' . . .**)

Kelsi decided to go to the library, because she hardly ever went there. Inside, she saw the nerds hanging around, and Martha wondered over to her.

"Hiya, um, I know we don't usually talk, but I wanted to say that Sharpay wants you to meet her in the auditorium after school."

"Okay." said Kelsi, instantly dreading it, and Martha rejoined her group. Kelsi found a small table, and slowly took out the Navy book.

She really shouldn't have, but since she's locked it away, an idea for a story had been building up, and she needed to get it down on paper.

She slowly opened the book she straight away the pen was on the paper.

_Ryan's Glamorous Genie_

_Ryan Evans was a normal guy. He loved shoes; he had more pairs of shoes than you can count, in every colour, (A.N Remind you of something? It begins with 'h' . . . and ends with 's' . . . and has 'at' in the middle . . .) and was quite a levelheaded person._

_He had always been an only child, and often sat in the attic looking at his baby pictures. One day, in the attic, he came across a pink fur purse. He picked it up, and stroked it, feeling its softness. Then he unzipped it to see if anything was inside._

_Suddenly, there was a gust of wind and a figure floated out of the purse!_

"_Ahh! A ghost!" squealed Ryan, pushing himself backwards on his butt (as he was sitting down.)_

_The 'ghost' slowly formed into the figure of a teenage girl, wearing a baby pink coloured robe with the hood up, so he could only see her nose and mouth._

"_I'm not a bloody ghost, you fool! I'm a genie!" scowled the girl. She lowered the hood to reveal blonde hair and eyes the same colour as his. "Don't you know who I am?" she asked, frowning._

"_No . . ."_

"_Trust them to not tell you." She said. Ryan didn't know who 'they' were. "I'm . . . my name is . . . " she shook her head. "Never mind. I am you magic genie for today!" she declared proudly. Ryan, being a bit slow, was lost in thought._

"_I thought genies came in lamps!"_

"_Then you obviously read too many stories. This isn't Aladdin, you know. Do I look like a big blue genie to you? Because you sure don't look like Aladdin to me!" she ranted. Ryan apologised quickly._

"_Anyway, I didn't want to be put in some greasy, rusty lamp! I asked the Creator himself to be put in something else."_

"_The Creator?"_

"_The person who made the order of the world! He keeps the world in balance. Without him, we're screwed."_

"_Oh . . ." Ryan's face brightened. "So I must get wishes then! How many? Three? Five? Ten?" He asked eagerly and Genie smiled cheekily._

"_Um, yeah, you would think that, wouldn't you? Actually it's four."_

"_Huh?"_

"_I know, I don't really get it either. There are rules as well, though. Four of them, which figures, really."_

_Genie snapped her dainty fingers and in a puff of smoke appeared a scroll. Ryan took it from her, and began to read._

Les Règles 

"_Oops! I have an English copy somewhere . . ."_

Le Regole 

"_Nope, that's Italian."_

Die Richtlinien 

"_German . . ."_

"_Why is it written in other languages?"_

"_So that people from different nationalities can understand it, duh! It means 'The Rules', by the way._

"_I do know that, thanks very much. I did study languages at school you know!" Ryan said irritably and sarcastically, and read._

_The Rules_

_1. You cannot wish to kill another living thing or yourself. If you try, your wish will not be granted, and you would have wasted it, so you're a twisted person if you try. Obviously, you can't kill non-living things._

_2. No ridiculous wishes. No wish is too big for your Genie, but if it is too ridiculous, it won't be granted. For example, wishing for all fishes in the world to disappear, or wishing to be God. Please. Just don't go there._

_3. You must use your wishes – you cannot wish for your genie to go away. You brought this upon yourself._

_4. Don't blink._

"_Huh? What does the last rule mean?"_

"_What it says. Don't blink while wishing. If some sort of curse put on Genie Wishes." Genie conjured a pink mirror, and gazed into it._

"_So if I do . . ."_

"_Something bad happens. I don't know what, I've never seen it happen. The Creator thinks that your wish will go wrong."_

"_So what are we waiting for? Lets start wishing!"_

"_What are you gonna wish for then?"_

"_I dunno . . ."_

"_Well, hurry up then. I don't like getting bored."_

"_Okay, okay." Brushing imaginary dirt off his shoe, he held his eyes open wide and said, "I wish my family was rich." with a blink at the end._

"_Ryan!"_

"_Sorry."_

_Genie clicked her fingers anyway, and gave a little smile at him. Ryan looked back uncertainly._

"_W-was that it?"_

"_Yep. Now lets go downstairs to see the effects. If they are any."_

_X X X_

_No doubt, Ryan went downstairs to see his mother crying happily, and his father cradling a piece of paper in his arms._

"_Let me guess – we won the lottery or something?"_

"_Oh Ry . . . your father got promoted, with a big fat pay check to go with it! We're rich!" His mother started dancing round the room._

_Ryan just smiled. It was unrealistic, but that's just because he knew he'd made it happen. Genie appeared beside him, this time in baby blue robes._

"_So, what's your next wish? Don't worry they can't see me." She raised an eyebrow at the deranged parents. Ryan frowned._

"_Dad, can't I see that check?" said Ryan reaching for it. His Dad flinched away and hissed at him not to touch it._

"_This is just too weird."_

"_That's what happens when you blink. There are . . . side-effects . . ."_

"_You're telling me! My Dad is singing lullabies to paper, and won't even talk to me. Not to mention my Mom, who's acting like a loony. I wish I wasn't here!"_

_He said, not realising he was blinking. Genie clicked her fingers._

_X X X  
_

"_Where are we?" They were on a sandy beach, with the sun blaring down on them._

"_I dunno. Mexico, Jamaica, Greece, the first place I thought of."_

_It was a beautiful view, Ryan knew his girlfriend Gabriella would love to see it. Gabriella. Ryan shouted, "I know what my third wish is!"_

_Genie stopped floating in the air wearing green robes, and said "Fire away."_

"_I wish Gabriella was here!"_

_Genie frowned, and clicked her fingers. "Okay, but you should really stop blinking, you're ruining your wish!"_

_Suddenly, there were golden sparkles – so bright, it was hard to see – and Gabriella appeared._

"_Wha . . . ?" she said, confused. "Where . . . am I? One moment I was . . . Ryan! What's going on?"_

"_I brought you here! I knew you'd love it, look, I have this Genie-"_

"_Ryan," cut through Gabriella exasperated, "We haven't seen each other in ages."_

"_But . . . we're still going out, aren't we?"_

"_We live in two different parts of America! I think it would be tricky to keep seeing each other, don't you? And for your information, you just 'summoned' me here from Taylor and Troy's funeral!"_

"_What?"_

"_They were in a car accident, Ryan. Chad escaped because he'd chosen to walk. If he had gotten in the car . . ."_

_Ryan was in despair. He didn't know what to do. Gabriella left, and Ryan said he'd send her back, but she snarled at him to 'leave her alone'._

"_You blinked, didn't you?" said Genie sceptically. Ryan hung his head. He was sure he didn't! She sighed and disappeared, saying she'd be back soon._

_Suddenly there was a roar, and Ryan looked at the Sea. A huge wave was rising above the waves, higher and higher. 'I'm in trouble now . . . ' Ryan thought, staring in shock. It wasn't a Tidal wave . . . It was a Tsunami!_

_Just before it reached him, he yelled, "I wish I was with my Genie so that-"_

_Silence._

_X X X_

_Ryan was up high, looking down at the world. The view was awesome. But where the hell was he?_

"_What did you wish now?!" said Genie, annoyed._

"_That I could stay with you." Said Ryan quietly. Genie's mood switched, and she gave him a smile._

"_Aww, you're sweet." Genie looked nervous. " You know . . . I've been meaning to tell you something . . ." Ryan looked questioningly at her._

"_My name is Sharpay Evans . . . I'm your sister." Ryan just gawped at her._

"_Mom and Dad never said I had a __sister__!"_

"_A __twin__ sister. It was Cot Death, I think. It was no one's fault, just . . . fate."_

_Sharpay sighed, and walked over to a man wearing a multi-coloured robes. He was standing lone, sparkles floating around him. You couldn't see his face. She beckoned Ryan over._

"_This . . . is the Creator." Sharpay said in a hushed voice._

"_Greetings, Ryan," said The Creator in a deep, slow voice. "We have matters to discuss. I assume the first thing you want to know, is why you are here. To be blunt, you have died."_

_Ryan swallowed. " . . . I see." The Creator went on,_

"_Because of your tendency to consistently blink (__**A.N. which basically means he keeps blinking while wishing**__), all of your wishes have gone wrong, apart from the last, because you didn't blink."_

"_You did not finish the wish, but the first part was to 'stay with your Genie'. You were dead when it was granted anyway, so that's fine."_

"_So I can stay with you?" said Ryan cheerfully, and Sharpay laughed._

"_Yes you dope. And more good news! I've been aGenie a long time, so the Creator has decided to release me! Now, as we're dead . . . we can rest in peace."_

_And so they did._

_As for the 'others' . . . Ryan/Sharpay's parents would have remained crazy for the rest of their life, but Ryan had died – the wish was broken. Ryan's death certainly broke them in two._

_Gabriella was transported back, because the wish about her was also broken. Her annoyance disappeared and she tried to find him, only to learn of his death from his parents. She felt guilty ever since._

_The last change that happened at Ryan's death was the result of the Tsunami. Everything went back to normal._

_Or a normal as life can be._

Kelsi opened the auditorium door, and walked inside. Her thoughts were still on her story, and she was disappointed that the ending had turned out so lame. It wasn't very creative at all (**A.N. I agree! The ending was just **_**urgh**_.).

Sharpay was there, and her alone, arms folded, looking more vulnerable than ever. She opened her mouth to speak.

"I think . . . we need to talk."

* * *

**Well, that took FOREVER!**

**The mini-story formed perfectly in my head (or should I say Kelsi's head, which is really mine (LOL)), and came out wrong when I wrote it out, (ESPECIALLY THE ENDING) so I hope you liked it.**

**Next chapter may not be out for a while. I know I say that a lot, but that's so you don't get your hopes up, because it's a possibility. I have LOADS of homework right now!**

**Mzdarkstar x x x**


	11. Martha's Garden

**Hello again, readers! I apologise for Chapter 10's sloppiness, but I tried to make this one better. Hope you enjoy!**

**Checklist: ****Sharpay, Kelsi, Zeke, Taylor, The Adults, Troy and Ryan. Who have we got left?**

* * *

**Recap**

Kelsi opened the auditorium door, and walked inside. Her thoughts were still on her story, and she was disappointed that the ending had turned out so lame. It wasn't very creative at all (**A.N. I agree! The ending was just **_**urgh**_

Sharpay was there, and her alone, arms folded, looking more vulnerable than ever. She opened her mouth to speak.

"I think . . . we need to talk."

"I'm serious. You can't tell anyone."

"Why shouldn't I? For all I know, you could have done it!"

"Kelsi, you can't seriously believe that!"

Kelsi placed her hands on her hips. "Tell me what's going on, _now_."

"Kelsi, nooo!" Sharpay moaned, placing her manicured hands on her head. "It was accident! I didn't do it, I swear! But if I told you who it was – they'd kill me – it was bad enough what that brat came . . . Candi doesn't know when to keep her mouth shut . . ."

"Candi? Candi broke it?!" Kelsi said in shock. Why would she do that?

"No, you dipstick," screeched Sharpay. "She was just _there_, like I was!"

Silence suddenly came to the large room, as a new light dawned on Kelsi.

If Sharpay wouldn't tell the whole story, Candi would, Kelsi was sure of it. She ask her tomorrow. Right now, Kelsi just wanted to get home.

But something was bugging her.

Like, a lot. What was it?

"I've said too much." Whispered Sharpay, "Again . . ."

"Yep!" said Kelsi cheerfully, "So if you'll excuse me, I'm going to find Candi."

"No. You can't. Kelsi, noooooooo!"

Sharpay kept moaning behind her, but Kelsi wasn't listening. She was trying to figure out what was bugging her.

She ran all the way out of School, it was after school, so no-one was really around. She quickly made her way home got was in her bedroom before she finally clicked what it was.

She was supposed to go to Candi's house after school. She said she would. She as good as _promised_.

Suddenly felt so, so guilty. Candi always did exactly what she said she'd do. Kelsi tried to phone, but she couldn't find Candi's number, which was annoyingly convenient. Argh!

It was getting late now, there was no point in going. At the same moment this thought shot through her head, her cell rang.

"Heeeeel-loooooo?"

"Hey, it's Ryan." Kelsi was so shocked, she actually took the phone away from her ear to look at it. How did he get her number?

"Oh, hi Ryan."

"I hope you don't mind me calling, I got your number from Sharpay, who got it from Gabriella, who got it from Troy, who got it from you, I think."

Damn straight! Of course she'd given it to Troy, he was her friend. What right did he have to give it to her?! Gabriella, the major back-stabber?

And what right did Gabriella have to pass it on? How rude!!!

Seething, Kelsi tried to keep the anger from her voice as she said, "Oh, I don't mind. After I quit the show, we haven't had much time to talk."

"I know, that's why I wanted to ask if you wanted to come over, Sharpay isn't around. Probably stalking Troy."

"Huh? Oh sure." In any other situation, Kelsi would have laughed at the joke, but she was too busy wondering if she should tell Ryan where Sharpay was, if she was even still there.

She decided against it, said her goodbyes, and got ready to leave; she put on something decent, grabbed her jacket, cell and keys.

She knew her Mom would say no if she asked, she'd think it was 'too late' to go out. So what did she do? Didn't ask her, of course, just told her as she was walking out the door!

"Mom, I'm going to a friends house, see ya, bye!" The front door slammed.

Moments passed as Mrs Nielsen figured out what just happened. Five minutes later, she realised.

"What the hell . . . ?!" she exclaimed in shock.

**HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM**

"Oh hello honey, you must be one of Sharpay's girls. She's not here, but you're free to go up and wait, she should be home from school soon."

Mrs Evan talked easily and steadily, but the word seemed to tumble out of her mouth; it was obvious she talked a lot.

Kelsi opened her mouth to correct the woman, she was here for Ryan, not Sharpay, but Mrs Evans was already gone.

The house was very big and luscious, but cosy and the same time, old-fashioned but modern. It was an awesome house, to be brief.

It wasn't hard to find the stairs, and Kelsi took her time looking for Ryan. As she looked at the paintings at photos on the walls, she listened to a beautiful tune being played on the piano. There must be a talented pianist around. Maybe Mr Evans?

Eventually, she got to the to the first floor, and decided to be quicker looking for Ryan, all the time hearing the music.

When she finally got to the room he was in, she found that he was the one playing! She stood at the door, listening in awe.

He played on, not playing a wrong note or hesitating once. When it came to the end of the piece, Kelsi wondered if she was better than him. People usually called her when they wanted a pianist . . . but did anyone know of Ryan's talents?

Kelsi cleared her throat, and Ryan whipped around, blushing a little.

"Oh, I . . . I was just . . . I mean, Sharpay isn't here, so . . ."

"It was beautiful, Ryan." Kelsi said softly, and Ryan stood up slowly, smiling, and took a step towards her. Kelsi would have instinctively taken a step back, but she felt sort of . . . mesmerised.

She didn't know anyone who appreciated music like that like she did.

They locked eyes, but didn't speak, fearing it would ruin the moment. . . and then Kelsi suddenly felt uncomfortable.

"Anyway," she said quickly, and they looked away from each other, smiling.

"So . . ." Ryan cleared his throat. Did you work on that story you started?"

"Troy Bolton meets his match? Oh, yeah. I did another story too . . . but I don't want you to read it."

"Why?"

"Um . . . it's lame." Kelsi lied, not wanting to say it was about him. Ryan grinned and said,

"Can I see the book?"

"Uh huh," Kelsi said, and told him which one to read. They sat on the sofa, and Ryan called one of the housekeepers and got them to bring some 'snacks'.

The housekeeper brought nachos with sauce, crisps, jelly babies (A.N. which I'm eating right now, they're very tasty), chocolates, cookies, gingerbread, Turkish delight, bagels with butter, and croissants.

As for drinks . . . don't even get started on those. A jug of water, fizzy drinks, fruit juice, and something that Kelsi suspected to have a bit of alcohol in it, or it could just be wine.

"Oh my . . ." exclaimed Kelsi, looking at the vast amount of 'snacks'. Ryan looked up from reading and grinned,

"Oh yeah . . . they always do that so I have 'enough'. I'm not the one who trains them that way – it's Sharpay who always wants to binge."

Kelsi giggles and had a red jelly baby. A few moments passed, and Ryan read contently.

In the end, Kelsi got up and went to the piano. She read the music like it was a book, and knew that it was a nice piece of music. Suddenly wanting to try it out, she sat down and played it.

"Urgh, I'm so out of practice, my fingers don't move as fast as they used to." muttered Kelsi. Suddenly, there were footsteps of someone walking down the corridor, and they called,

"Ryan, stop playing that frickin' piano! It's giving me a - " then Sharpay reached the door and saw Kelsi.

The look that Kelsi received must have been the most scared look anyone had ever given to her, especially as Kelsi wasn't scary.

" . . . headache?" finished Kelsi. Sharpay just ran to her room, looking bewildered. Ryan mumbled 'what's wrong with her' under his breath, before laughing out loud.

"Which bit are you up to?" asked Kelsi, getting up from the piano to peer over his shoulder.

"_Dad, can't I see that check?" said Ryan reaching for it. His Dad flinched away and hissed at him not to touch it._

"_This is just too weird."_

"_That's what happens when you blink. There are . . . side-effects . . ."_

"_You're telling me! My Dad is singing lullabies to paper, and won't even talk to me. Not to mention my Mom, who's acting like a loony. I wish I wasn't here!"_

"Hey! You're not supposed to be reading that one!" said Kelsi grabbing the book, but Ryan held on.

"Please lemme read, it's great!"

"It's crap," said Kelsi, "Let go!" Ryan let go with one hand and grabbed Kelsi's arm. In surprise, Kelsi shook his arm off, accidentally letting the book slide from her grip.

"Oh, why thank you, I didn't think you were going to let go." said Ryan, with a cheeky grin. _He's cute when he does that,_ thought Kelsi, and immediately blushed, like she was scared he'd read her thought or something.

"You're cute when you blush," said Ryan absent-mindedly, going back to reading. Kelsi didn't know what to say, but that blush just went deeper. Did he even know what he just said?

Oh well. Wandering around, Kelsi found another music sheet. Well, she though, getting back up to scratch with my piano skills is something to do, at least.

**HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM**

"So, what sort of stories do you write?" Kelsi asked Ryan, as he walked Kelsi home. He said it was because was bored, but Kelsi didn't believe him.

"I don't write stories as such, I write plays. Duh, I'm an actor!" he grinned, and Kelsi smiled.

"What did you think of my stories?" she asked, apprehensive. She was sure he'd read the one about him! Ryan started to chuckle.

"They were all really funny, you sure do have a thing for humour. Though saying that, one thing you need to improve on is your descriptions. There's a lot of action and dialogue, but you don't set the scene."

"That's true," said Kelsi in thought. They didn't speak again until they'd reached her house, so Kelsi thanked him and said goodbye.

"Kelsi, where the hell have to been? You just walked out the house, ad didn't answer your phone when I called . . ."

Mrs Nielsen clutched her hair with fright and frustration. Kelsi stood still, fearing the worst.

"What is _wrong_ with you? You've been acting weird all week! Is . . . is something wrong?"

"Nope. Nothing ever is." shrugged Kelsi, who quickly rushed to her room before her mother said anything else.

**HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM**

"Think, think . . . ." Kelsi muttered to herself. It was only when Ryan had told her that she realised what her main problem was.

She was crap at writing descriptions! So what was she supposed to do?

"Maybe I need some inspiration." Kelsi wondered aloud, so she got up and moved to the plant pot on her window sill. The flowers were very beautiful, red, with streaks of fuchsia and . . . .

Wait.

"I think I just got my inspiration," muttered Kelsi. She snapped open Her navy writing book, and wrote about the first person she thought of.

_Martha's Garden_

_Martha always appreciated the small things in life. Maybe that was because she had nothing else to appreciate, or because she had a big heart._

_Martha's garden was beautiful. Her mother had kept it that way, and now Martha would make sure it stayed that way._

_All sorts of plantss grew in it; tall roses, in deep scarlet, light pink, and creamy white. Some of them had already bloomed, opening their petals to the light that was the sun; others still had a few more days left to go._

_Lilies, Freesias, Lotus', Pansies, Tulips, all of the flowers in the garden swayed gently with the soft breeze that wove itself in and out the flowers._

_Not to mention the small shrubs in the corner, or the herbs that grew against the garden fence._

_The Daisies were Martha's favorite. It was her mother's name and favorite flower. There were so many different types of daisies. 'Just like people,' Daisy Cox would say to her daughter._

_Bellis. That was the name of the common daisy, the one with white petals and a yellow centre. They had a pot of those in the living room._

_Sometimes it got confusing. Bellis was a type of daisy, which was a type of flower. But they were many types of bellis' too._

_Bellis Perennis was the English Daisy, also called the Common Daisy or Lawn Daisy._

_Bellis Annua was an Annual Daisy and Bellis Sylvestris was the Southern Daisy._

_Oh yes, Martha knew a lot about flowers. She knew she was going to be a florist when she grew up._

_That was before. Before her mother died._

_Now, only a few months later, Martha neglected her garden. _

_The flowers, who weren't getting the care they needed, slowly withered away like Martha herself, each petal floating over the garden fence to a happier place._

_The garden was no longer beautiful. The secrets that the flowers held between their petals had long gone and the weeds were thriving, choking the flowers that still survived._

_And the pot of Bellis'?_

_Dead._

_Just like Daisy Cox._

_Martha Cox lo longer cared for the Garden of Flowers._

_She no longer cared for anything anymore._

Kelsi sat up, reading over her work. She hoped it was descriptive enough. It was certainly sad enough! Martha's mother died, for goodness sake!

_God Forbid_, thought Kelsi, her eyes wide, and she suddenly felt apprehensive. Maybe she shouldn't have done a story like that about someone she knew.

Leaping up, she snatched her cell out of her jacket pocket (it was in there from when she went to see Ryan, remember?) and called Ryan.

"Hello?"

Kelsi cut off the call, and slammed the phone down. Her cell rang but she didn't answer it. Dammit!

Why was Sharpay always around when she wasn't wanted?!

* * *

**Sorry it took a long time; it was hard to get access to the computer. Hopefully, next Chapter will be up ASAP.**

**Thanks for the reviews, you guys! Of course, I would love it if you left more for this chapter . . . (smiles hopefully)**

**Also, I have a fairly-new Oneshot out called Too Many Excuses. If you like this story, I think you'll like that one too!**

**Star x x x**


	12. Gabriella's 'Star' Sickness

**I'm sorry for taking so long, homework's been dragging me down. I've finally planned the end of the story(!), I just need to write it down properly.**

**I hope you like this Chapter; it took a while to get inspiration for it.**

**Checklist: Sharpay, Kelsi, Zeke, Taylor, The Adults, Troy, Ryan, and Martha. Not many people left now . . .**

**Disclaimer: Do I own it yet? (checks) nope.**

* * *

**Recap**

Leaping up, she snatched her cell out of her jacket pocket (it was in there from when she went to see Ryan, remember?) and called Ryan.

"Hello?"

Kelsi cut off the call, and slammed the phone down. Her cell rang but she didn't answer it. Dammit!

Why was Sharpay always around when she wasn't wanted?!

Kelsi walked through the auditorium door, and people looked her way. It was weird, being noticed; she'd always been one of the background people.

She decided to seek out the main cast of the show first. Wednesday morning meant rehearsal before School started, so she knew they'd be there. She found a debate going on inside.

"What are we going to do?" stressed Suzy. "The show is in two weeks!"

"Huh, what?" frowned Ryan. "No it's not. Is it? When is it again?"

"Today is Wednesday, so it's not next Wednesday, but the Wednesday, Thursday _and_ Friday after." calculated Gabriella, clutching her bag.

At the same time, Ally caught sight of Kelsi walking in, and her face hardened. "Well. Look who it is."

Everyone in that little group turned to face her, apart from Sharpay who couldn't meet her eye.

"Yep." said Kelsi coolly, "The girl who 'let you down'. Cut me the bull, per-lease. I'm just here because I had an idea."

"Oh wow! An idea!" said Ally mockingly.

"What if we don't want to listen to your _idea_?" Suzy raised an eyebrow. Kelsi shrugged.

"Your loss. Like you said, the show's in two weeks."

Silence.

"What do you propose?" asked Sharpay. She had suddenly become interested.

"Look. I want to be in the show, I really do." sighed Kelsi.

"But you need to understand that most of you sing, and act, and dance, but playing the piano is the only thing I'm good at. Now that the it's been smashed, I can't really do _anything_! Can't you see that?"

Most of them looked at the ground awkwardly, ashamed. They never bothered to look at it that way before.

"You still have your voices, all we need is musical accompaniment." continued Kelsi.

"What, like guitars and stuff?" said Ryan excitedly. "My Dad can help with that!"

"And my Mom plays the violin," said Sharpay slowly. "We could use her to replace the piano in the scene where the orphan runs away! You know, after the-"

"My brother plays the drums!" hissed Suzy, enthusiastically. "Now I see where you're going with this!" Kelsi nodded with a smile.

"If we can get those people to come in for rehearsals, we can totally turn this thing around!" whispered Kelsi, and everyone became silent.

"We can only make this work if we work together." Said Ryan confidently with a nod. Everyone grinned as they left the auditorium for Home Room, but one person remained anxious.

Gabriella.

"You okay, Gabriella?" asked Sharpay, seeing as they were close buddies now. She nodded, and also left, with Kelsi's eyes lingering curiously on her.

**HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM**

The days flew by, after that.

Kelsi discovered that on the same day that she forgot to go to Candi's house, Candi had an accident, and wouldn't be in school for a while. Kelsi became suspicious and anxious. How was she supposed to ask about the piano now?

Well anyway, things were really coming together.

By the Friday of the same week, Most of their Musical arrangements had been set, thanks to Kelsi. She decided to use the school Orchestra for most of the songs, but got other people to do certain parts as well, when she could.

Of course, after the plans had been made, she had to go and tell Ms Darbus, as she was the 'Director' of the play after all. Thankfully, she was immensely pleased with Kelsi, and so they got the show on the road.

Tickets were rapidly selling, and it was a lot of Students from East High that were buying them. Troy, Chad, Zeke, Jason, and Taylor bought tickets too.

By the next Monday, the programmes had been made, and fliers went up. On Tuesday, the costumes came in, so there were more costume rehearsals.

Yep, the show was looking good.

**HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM**

On Wednesday, Kelsi went to the cafeteria, and people actually moved out of her way. It made her feel really weird. I bet Sharpay doesn't feel this way when people do this for her, Kelsi thought.

She sat down at a table, and opened her Navy book to write another story. She had to remember to make it descriptive too, and she'd show Ryan after.

_Gabriella's 'Star' Sickness_

_Gabriella was sick._

_Sick and tired of being ignored._

_She was special, and she knew it. _

_But nobody saw what she saw. Friends, family, all the same._

_At School, she breathed out 'talent' on the window next to her table, and wrote her name in the mist._

_At Drama Rehearsals, she acted her heart out, but her part was given to another. She sang to her full ability, but it did not suit the part. She danced like an angel, but not well enough._

_And so she was rejected._

_Oh, she was __so sick__ of not being recognised as somebody. Didn't anybody understand?_

_Taylor McKessie, the new girl on the block, full of Logic._

_Sharpay Evans, the renowned teenage actor, full of Beauty._

_Kelsi Nielsen, the unique pianist, full of Kindness._

_But did any of them have talent?_

_Huh, __no_

_Gabriella didn't think so._

**X**

_Today._

_Everything in her life would change today. She knew it._

_The feeling seeped in and out of her body, flowing from bone to bone until she was shaking, unable to keep still._

_She was a Star, but nobody saw her talent._

_Today, that would change._

**X**

_Yes._

_A Star._

_Locked up. Why?_

_This asylum reeked of cleaning detergents, as Gabriella shivered in the corner of her white room._

_She refused to eat, sleep, think._

_Stars with so much talent shouldn't be treated this way._

_But never mind._

_She was special, and she knew it. _

_But nobody saw what she saw. Friends, family, all the same._

_Maybe that was why she was locked up here._

_They were just jealous of her. Maybe they thought she had no talent at all._

_Today, that was going to change._

Reading back through her work, she wondered if she'd made it clear enough that Gabriella was crazy, without actually writing it. And the title was a bit corny too.

Maybe she was losing her touch . . . ?

She'd just ask Ryan when she saw him.

**HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM**

She talked to Ryan again, after school. They were passing each other in the corridor; he was going to rehearsals in the auditorium; she was heading to her locker, and then home.

"Hey, Ryan!" Ryan turned, and smiled.

"Hey!"

"How're rehearsals going?"

"Nuh. So-so." Ryan shrugged, and Kelsi laughed.

"Hey, I took your advice, and wrote two more stories with more description. Why don't you read it and tell me what you think?"

"Okay sure, I'll borrow the book, like, on Monday or something; I'm going to this Young Actor's Award thing with my parents from tomorrow to Sunday." Kelsi raised her eyebrows.

"Sharpay's not going is because she's been getting bad grades recently. I think something's been bothering her. She's probably run out of clothes." He said, and Kelsi giggled again.

"I told Ms Darbus I wouldn't go so I could come to rehearsals, and she was like, 'Absolutely not! This is a fantastic opportunity' blah blah blah. So yeah, she's cool with it."

Kelsi continued to laugh hysterically, as Ryan imitated the middle aged woman.

"Everyone is really hyper in rehearsals. Our first performance is this time next week, after all! Oh, speaking of which, I'd better go." He continued, checking his watch.

"I know . . ." Kelsi fidgeted, lost in thought. "Well, good luck!"

"You too." And he left.

Still smiling, she stared after him. He made her laugh a lot.

And she noticed that just then, he'd said more in one go than she'd ever heard him say before, not even realising that he might have been purposely making her laugh.

She stuffed the A5, Navy-Blue notebook in her locker, and shut the locker door before going home.

**HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM**

"Pick up . . . Pick up . . ." uttered Kelsi, as the phone continued to ring.

"(cough cough) . . . hello?"

"Candi!" cried Kelsi, with a sigh of relief. "Thank God I got you!"

"You were lucky to get me," Candi wheezed, with a few more coughs. "I feel like death."

"What happened?" Candi took a breath, and Kelsi knew a long story was coming on.

"Last Tuesday, as in NOT yesterday which was also Tuesday, you promised to come round my house." Kelsi bit her lip, glad that Candi couldn't see her ashamed face.

"Charzard locked himself out, God knows how, so when he rang the doorbell, I thought it was you. I stupidly ran downstairs, instead of walking, and I slipped and fell all the way down."

"My God . . ." whispered Kelsi.

"I know." said Candi, her voice wistful. "I only sprained my ankle, but if that wasn't bad enough, I caught a chill, which really just sucks ass."

"Mom called Ms Darbus to say that I probably _will_ be in the show, and I'll come back to school tomorrow, or Friday. But the show's next Wednesday; I'd rather not bother and stay in bed. At least I haven't got a Major part."

"Well, I hope you get better, Can." said Kelsi sympathetically. "So much has been going on . . . it's just nuts." Suddenly, Kelsi remembered the broken piano thing, and was about to ask her when Candi said she had to go.

"Damn." Grumbled Kelsi. Flopping on her bed, she decided to make another story, but then remembered the book was at school, and groaned.

**HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM**

On Thursday, when Kelsi went to school, nothing seemed out of place. She went straight to her locker, wanting to get her Notebook.

Her locker was open . . . and empty.

Then she had a flashback of something Candi had said before;

_I ran into Adam from the soccer team. He said that Mickey, Dave, and Kennedy are doing a locker raid, and that I should get out anything valuable._

Mickey, Dave and Kennedy.

Locker raid.

"Sonuva . . . " Kelsi gasped.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"

* * *

**Ooooooh, who stole the Book? LOL, find out in the next Chapter!**

**(Sonuva is as in 'son of a', by the way.)**

**Star x x x**


	13. Chad The Rebel

**Sorry for the delay! I've been busy writing my other story, and I've sorta been neglecting this one, sorry!**

**I'm also sorry to say that this story is coming to an end. This will most likely be the third to last Chapter.**

**Checklist: ****Sharpay, Kelsi, Zeke, Taylor, The Adults, Troy, Ryan, and Martha and Gabriella. Unless I'm mistaken, only Chad and Jason are left . . .**

**Disclaimer: Oh yes, I am the famous director of High School Musical! Mwah, mwah, thank you! LOL, joking.**

* * *

**Recap **

Then she had a flashback of something Candi had said; 

_I ran into Adam from the soccer team. He said that Mickey, Dave, and Kennedy are doing a locker raid, and that I should get out anything valuable._

Mickey, Dave and Kennedy.

Locker raid.

"Sonuva . . ." Kelsi gasped.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"

It was still Thursday Morning. Everyone must be doing before-school practice. Soccer, Cheer, Basketball, Rehearsals . . .

Kelsi walked briskly, strongly, angrily.

Her glasses kept slipping off her face, so she took them off, and threw them into some bush in anger. She jus left her bag and coat by her locker, not caring what happened to them.

Her navy hat (**A.N. like her notebook!**) kept slipping, and her hair had come untied. The top button of her shirt had come undone too, but she hadn't noticed.

She was MAAAAD. So, so mad.

Adam. He must have known about the locker raid . . . which is why she was heading to the soccer field.

**HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM**

"Sorry, he's not here." Chelsea shook her head. The Cheerleaders stopped to look at what was going on; Kelsi looked different, and she was obviously unhappy.

"Then where is he?" stressed Kelsi. Chelsea looked quite alarmed.

"Hey, don't pick on me! I think he went to talk to Troy Bolton in the gym." But before Chelsea had finished, Kelsi was gone.

**HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM**

"Dude, what the hell are you on about?" snorted Chad, and the boys burst into laughter. Taylor was also there, because Chad was.

"Shuddup, man!" retorted Adam, as the joke was on him.

The game had sort of subsided since Adam came, and the boys were just hanging about on the court. If Coach Bolton ever saw them!

Suddenly, the doors burst open, and a girl stormed in.

"Woah, hottie Alert!" grinned Adam, and the other boys agreed appreciatively, watching her come nearer. Taylor frowned. Troy grinned sheepishly, and took a drink of his water, looking away.

He didn't feel right gawping at the girl, no matter how hot she was, because of Gabriella. Chad felt the same, so he chatted to Taylor.

The girl approached them and stopped, rested a hand on her hip. She whipped the hat off; it was annoying her because it kept slipping into her face. She glowered at Adam.

"Kelsi?" said Chad and Troy in surprise. Troy choked on his water, and Zeke thumped his back.

"You look different!" hushed Taylor.

"I think it's the hat." grinned Chad.

"I think it's because I feel like a bomb just waiting to go off." She rounded on Adam. "I want a word with you!"

"Sure baby, I'm all ears." grinned Adam, and some of the guys sniggered.

Kelsi gave him a seductive smile and stepped closer to him, (Troy scowled at Adam) but it turned into a sarcastic one as she grabbed one ear in a vice-like grip.

"_Who raided the lockers last night?_" She bellowed into his ear.

"Steady on, toots!" winced Adam, and she just repeated the question.

"Look, it's usually Mickey, Dave and Kennedy, but yesterday Kennedy did the raid on his own."

"So where is he?" she asked firmly.

"I think he's in the auditorium, chatting up that Suzy gal." But again, before he'd finished, Kelsi had gone, putting the hat back on.

"Well," Adam straightened himself up, "She's a fast mover isn't she?"

Chad and Taylor burst out laughing. "He's such a wannabe!" Taylor whispered into Chad's ear as she hugged him.

"I know." Chad replied, smiling.

Troy just stood there, shocked and somehow jealous.

**HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM**

"When are they gonna be back?" said Gabriella worried.

"I don't know about Candi, but Ryan's back on Monday." answered Sharpay. Gabriella and Sharpay were both on stage, but they had to stop because Ryan wasn't there to fill the gap.

"Okay, let's just skip Ryan's bit and move on then," said Gabriella.

"We have to skip Candi's bit as well," replied Sharpay.

The auditorium doors burst open, and a girl in a classy, navy hat came striding in.

"Who's she?" asked Gabriella, fascinated at the girl's superior-ness.

"No idea." said Sharpay, awe-struck.

"Kennedy!" barked the girl.

Kennedy was lurking in the area where the seats were talking to Suzy, and whipped round. He wasn't quite sure who this girl was, but he was pleased that such a hot girl would talk to him.

Ignoring Suzy, he answered, "Yeah?" trying to seem as cool as possible. Lots of people were staring, after all.

Whipping the hat off, Kelsi folded her arms. "_Kelsi Nielsen_?" said Ally in surprise, and Sharpay and Gabriella did a double take.

Kelsi just asked him straight up. "You raided the lockers last night and something important was taken from mine. I want it back."

"Well, what went missing?" he asked, scratching his head. But Kelsi wasn't going to tell him that, no way.

"_Well_, why don't you tell me where the stuff are first?" she retorted.

"I gave them to Dave." shrugged Kennedy. Kelsi gave him a charming smile.

"Thanks, Ken." And she was about to leave when she remembered something.

"Wait, where the hell is Dave?" she frowned.

"I think he's in the cafeteria, study for some crap. But hey, what's in it for me? I just told you where your things are, well, _our_ things now. I want payment." He eyed her and raised an eyebrow.

"Hmmm, let me see." Kelsi rapped her fingers against her forehead.

"How about I tell Ms Darbus that your disrupting rehearsals for the show, or I tell the Coach that you're not in practice. Take your pick."

Kennedy sighed. "Haha, funny. I'll be getting somethin' sooner or later!"

"Maybe . . ." Kelsi made her way to the doors. "But not from me!" She called over her shoulder as she exited, smiling. _What a charmer_, she thought, shaking her head.

"Who is that girl?" Kennedy asked Suzy, still staring at the door.

"Not who she used to be, I'll give you that." replied Suzy, frowning.

**HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM**

"That doesn't make any sense!" Dave said angrily.

"That's because you're not listening!" Martha replied, just as angry.

"I am, but you're moving way too fast! One moment we have 67, then you do this complicated mojo and the number's fourteen thousand, five hundred and sixty-seven point two seven four six!"

(**A.N. 14, 567.2746!**)

Dave chucked his pen onto the table in frustration. "What the heck is going on?"

"You're telling me where my things, my _stolen_ belongings are." came a voice, and Dave looked up.

A girl wearing a navy hat at a displeased expression walked into the empty cafeteria. "Speak up, there's only two minutes left until the bell goes for homeroom!"

"Who are you, and why do you want to know?" frowned Dave. Kelsi raised an eyebrow. She had to think quickly, not to mention get him to believe her.

"Adam and Kennedy will tell you what you want to know." She lied. "Where's the loot?" Martha looked nervously between the two teenagers. She didn't recognise Kelsi either.

Dave shook his head. "As soon as I got the stuff, I passed it on to Mickey."

Kelsi moaned, frustrated. She hated jumping around like a jack-in-the-box for one book, but she _did_ need it back.

Imagine if her nemesis, Gabriella, actually _read_ that book? Or Troy or . . . _anyone_ . . . they would never let her live it down.

"Where is Mickey?" She demanded.

"He said he's taking half the day off school because he's not bothered to come, but that he's coming in at lunch break to show us where it is. He's meeting us on the far end of the Soccer field."

Great. Just great.

She's have to wait half a day to get her damn book.

And right on cue, the bell rang for homeroom.

As she banged her fist on the table, her hat slipped forward, and so she took it off and chucked it in the nearest bin, pissed off with the damn thing.

"Kelsi?" gasped Martha. "You look so different!"

"Yeah, yeah," spat Kelsi, as she left the cafeteria. "That's what everyone says." But the thing was . . . she _did _look different.

The whole ordeal happening to her over the month made her look _and_ feel different. She wasn't the shy mouse anymore. She was different. Stronger. Fiercer.

Nobody was bringing _this_ girl down.

**HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM**

"Here it is," said Mickey, pointing to the things. Adam, Kennedy, Dave, and Mickey watched as she leaped on the pile, searching for . . . whatever she wanted, they didn't know.

They hadn't expected her to push so hard to get here, and Dave certainly hadn't expected her to turn up at the Soccer field. But she was a fierce fighter.

She had gotten her glasses back, but not bothered with the hat. Smiling, she knew Ryan would have benn appalled.

As she reached over on the table, she became more frantic. It had to be here, it just had to be.

But . . . but what if it wasn't?

No. Don't think like that. It has to be. Kelsi suddenly remembered the four boys were still watching her. But she was bent over, so . . .

"You boys had better not be looking at my ass!" she called over her shoulder, and she heard shuffling as the four boys looked away from her ass, grinning.

"I don't understand." Kelsi sat back, so she was kneeling on the table, a troubled expression on her face.

_I'm sitting on a table behind a filthy bike shed . . . looking for something that isn't here . . ._ Kelsi thought sadly, gazing at the pile.

"What, you didn't find it?" frowned Mickey. She shook her head, and as she did she gazed at Mickey. He was definitely cute. Like, really cute. Especially when he frowned.

But she'd seen an even cuter face . . .

(**A.N. Hmm, who's she thinkin' about?**)

"Why don't you just tell us _what_ it _is_?" shrugged Kennedy, he really wanted to know. He'd asked before as well. Kelsi recited in a bored voice.

"Notebook, A5, Navy, fairly thick, has white pages, has lines on the pages, made of paper, doesn't eat sausages-"

"We get it," grinned Dave. He was obviously the humorous one in this little clique, like Chad was in _his_ clique.

"Wait . . ." Mickey frowned again. "Wait. Navy notebook . . . I already gave that away!"

"_What?!_" shrilled Kelsi. "Why the hell did you do that for?"

"Because the girl said the book belonged to her, so I was like whatever. I didn't know!"

"What it Candi who took it, Mick?" asked Adam, in his deep voice, and Mickey shook his head.

"I know Candi when I see her, thanks."

"You went out with her last year, didn'cha Mick?"

"Yeah. It's funny actually, because . . ."

Blah blah blah. That's all Kelsi heard.

She wasn't even listening to what they were saying anymore. Someone else had her book . . . so she should just face the fact; she probably wouldn't get it back.

"Listen boys, thanks for the heads up, and showing me here an' all . . ." Kelsi began. "But it's obviously lost, so I'll see ya around."

The boys nodded and watched as she left.

"Nice girl." Said Dave quietly. "What was her name again?"

"Kelly Niles," Kennedy repeated what he remembered Suzy saying, "The girl Ryan Evans likes."

"I can see why," snorted Adam, and the boys laughed, thinking about Kelsi's butt.

**HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM**

Back in the bedroom. School finished a few hours ago.

Kelsi so badly wanted to write a story that had been building up in her head, but she'd rather write in her book, than write on paper and stick it in after.

But she couldn't deny the urge any longer. She grabbed some paper.

_Chad the Rebel_

_Chad the rebel, the most daring youth of East high, may his Lordship make mischief in peace._

_His name was known here and there, and there were rumours going round that you could dare him to do anything, and he would do it._

_Even if his life was at risk._

X X X

_Chad was a rebel. He's done all sorts of things that people would dare to do, like ask Ms Darbus if she was a bisexual._

_Boy, how she flipped. Detention for . . . a year. Of course, he never turned up._

_Then, there was the time he was dared (by a prissy girl called Sharpay Evans) to run through the school starkers. He accepted the dare, but only if he was allowed to wear pants, at least._

_That was funny too. Especially when the Principal rushed out of his office, screaming. Chad practically had a runway; loads of people were waiting and watching, but there were more girls than boys. (!)_

_And of course, there's the time that Chad's basketball hit the girl with the anger problem, Taylor McKessie. He got the ball from her, but before she could yell at him, he kissed her!_

_(Probably just to shut her up.) He had a reputation for that sort of thing._

_Being a rebel, that is, not kissing. He wasn't bothered with girlfriends._

_He didn't like the __commitment!_

X X X

"_Okay then," said Zeke. He folded his arms. "C.D, there is no way you could do this one."_

_A crowd was in the gym, waiting for Chad, (or C.D., as they called him) to do something else daring._

"_Lay it on me, dude," said Chad in a bored voice._

"_Right. Sit in the basketball hoop in the whole of practice, and refuse to come down, no matter who asks you." Zeke declared, and Chad grinned. Easy._

_Troy, Jason, and Zeke were his helpers; they'd bring the ingredients (needed equipment) for the recipe (which was the plan)._

_Troy got a ladder so Chad could get up there, and Jason handed him his cell, and his water bottle._

_The plan was in motion._

X X X

"_Guys' lets start practicing. We have a game in a few weeks, and . . ." Coach Bolton paused. "Where's that rascal, Chad?"_

_Grinning, Troy pointed to the hoop, which Chad was sitting on, swinging his legs in a bored fashion._

"_What the – CHAD! Get down this instant!"_

"_No, I'm okay." Chad grinned._

"_That was an order, not a request, Chad!"_

"_Nah, I'm okay up here. Hey, it's easier to scratch your butt through a hoop!" Chad grinning daring, and everyone howled with laughter._

"_Right." The Coach was trembling with fury. He pulled up his sleeves. "Right . . ."_

X X X

_Well, it was his fault anyway._

_The Principal came, along with Chad's Mom, dad, and half the school._

_Chad was so shocked; he fell right off the damned thing!_

_Everyone sent him loads of chocolates, and cards, and flowers, and basketballs and such._

_But even in hospital with a badly injured leg, he wanted to get back out there and pull more stunts!_

_Huh. Some people never change._

**HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM**

"Kelsi, I'm walking to school with you today." Said Mrs Nielsen, and she had her coat and shoes on. Kelsi looked at her mother apprehensively.

"That's okay Mom. Honestly, I-"

"No, I insist." affirmed her mother, and Kelsi glumly walked out the door behind her mother. They walked in silence for a while.

"Kelsi . . . we don't talk any more. And. . . I'm getting worried." Mrs Nielsen fidgeted with her hands. "I know you're getting older . . . but don't grow up too fast Kelsi."

"Mom, I'm not. Look, remember three weeks ago when you were talking to me about being creative in a different way . . . I took your advice."

Kelsi sighed, and stopped in the street. "Mom . . . I've been getting a bit addicted to it, but it's under control now. I have a friend-"

"Kelsi, listen to me. Whatever hobbies you might choose to do . . ." Mrs Nielsen grabbed her daughter by the shoulders.

"Don't neglect your family and your friends. Even if you don't want to listen to anything else I have to say, remember that at least."

With that, she went back home, leaving Kelsi feeling awful. Not just because she knew that what her mother was saying was true, but because . . .

Because that the same thing Gabriella was doing now.

**HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM**

Kelsi walked down the corridor. She had walked so slowly, she was sort of late for home-room, but oh well.

"_Taylor could have burst into tears. It had been a week since the bathroom talk, and she had done all she could to make Gabriella pleased with her_ . . ."

The voice was coming from her Home-room class. _Why does that sound so familiar?_ She thought.

Not the voice . . . but what the voice was saying. What?

"Wait, wait, listen. '_This isn't Aladdin, you know. Do I look like a big blue genie to you? Because you sure don't look like Aladdin to me!' she ranted. Ryan apologised quickly. '__Anyway, I didn't want to be put in some greasy, rusty lamp'! _"

"That is . . . really familiar . . ." muttered Kelsi is shock.

"Okay, listen to this!" Pause. Sounds of pages turning.

"_At East High, reputation and being cool was more important than anything else. So Chad and Kelsi got together instead, because it was better for their rep. So did Troy and Taylor. And Gabriella? She just went back to her equations._"

"My God!" spluttered Kelsi, and ran to the half open door that the voice was coming from.

Troy, Chad, Taylor, Sharpay, Ally, Suzy, Martha, everyone. Gathered at Gabriella's feet.

Gabriella, standing on a chair with everyone gathered at her feet.

Gabriella Montez, standing on a wooden chair with everyone gathered at her feet . . . reading from an all-too-familiar, navy, A5 book!

* * *

**Ooooh! What's she gonna do? Stick around to find out!**

**I hope you liked it and please review!**

**Star x x x**


	14. THE TRUTH

**Second to last Chapter.**

**This is where the truth comes out.**

**Checklist: ****only Jason left . . .**

**Disclaimer: I'm the person dancing in the background in HSM2! Didn't I say? You don't believe me? Fine, then! LOL**

* * *

**Recap**

"My God!" spluttered Kelsi, and ran to the half open door that the voice was coming from.

Troy, Chad, Taylor, Sharpay, Ally, Suzy, Martha, everyone. Gathered at Gabriella's feet.

Gabriella, standing on a chair with everyone gathered at her feet.

Gabriella Montez, standing on a wooden chair with everyone gathered at her feet . . . reading from an all-too-familiar, navy, A5 book!

Kelsi sat on her bed, lifeless.

There was nothing to do. Nothing to think about . . . apart from her book.

How could she let that two-faced back-stabber slip through her fingers so easily?

Kelsi glanced at her alarm clock; it was about twenty to seven.

Sighing, she recalled how she got from Friday morning, the morning she saw Gabriella with her book, to Sunday morning, today, now.

Flashback, Friday Morning

"_Where . . . where did you get this?" spluttered Kelsi. Everyone looked to her standing at the door. Gabriella looked quite surprised._

"_Some boy, he didn't want it." she shrugged. '__Liar,__' Kelsi thought. '__You told Mickey it was yours!__'_

"_It got some . . . interesting things in here . . ." Gabriella flipped the pages slowly, because she knew that everyone was dying of suspense._

"_Well__? What else does it have in it?" said Martha._

"_Well," began Gabriella, smiling,_

"_There's one about you, Martha, called Martha's garden. There's one about you too, Chad. And Taylor . . ."_

"_Who the hell is writing these? Have they written about all of us?!" frowned Chad, and Kelsi panicked._

_That statement just made her lose the courage to ask Gabriella for it back._

_Gabriella started reading out more story extracts. "You know . . . I think these stories are real!"_

"_WHAT!" roared the class, and everyone tried to grab the book from her._

"_Wait, WAIT!" she shouted, and the nose died down._

"_I think the person made them up!" said Kelsi loudly, not knowing what the hell else to do._

_She walked up to Gabriella, then when she was off guard, snatched it from her. Flipping though the pages like she hadn't read it, Kelsi said,_

"_Look, if it's true, then you've been in an Asylum, Ryan's had a genie, Sharpay's had plastic surgery-"_

"_Excuse me?" shrieked Sharpay._

_Kelsi thought she could get away with the book, but Gabriella was as good as her. When Kelsi's guard was low, she snatched it right back._

All day, Kelsi had tried to get the book back, but she didn't have the courage to snatch it. Not without someone knowing.

Sitting up, Kelsi grabbed her phone.

How coincidental that the only two people who knew about the book were not around?

She needed their help. Now.

"Hello, can I speak to Candi, please?" she asked, anxious.

"Oh, I'm sorry." came Cassie Wade's voice, "She's at a rehearsal for a school play. May I ask who is speaking?"

"It's Kelsi."

"Oh Kelsi!" said Cassie in relief. "There's me, putting on a posh voice, and it's only you! Is it urgent?"

"Oh, no, just tell her I called." said Kelsi, hanging up to call the only other person who knew.

"Ryan! Ryan is that you? Please, please-" panicked Kelsi. She was so relieved when she heard his voice. 

"Kelsi, calm down. It's me! What's up?" came Ryan's voice, a little muffled.

So she told him.

He didn't really interrupt, except to ask questions at the right places. After she'd finished, he was silent for a while.

"Why did you just ask for it back?" asked Ryan sceptically.

"But then she'd know it was mine! everyone would know . . . And I don't think she would. Everyone angry that I had written stuff about them!" murmured Kelsi.

"So . . . go to her house and get it from her." said Ryan, as though it was the simplest thing in the world.

"I can't. Ryan, I never told you before but . . . I _hate_ Gabriella Montez!" hissed Kelsi.

"I can't really just go round there and say, 'Hi! If you've read my book, then you'll know I hate you, but anywhoo, can I have it back, please?' Ryan, c'mon!"

"Well to be honest . . ." said Ryan awkwardly. "I would!" and he started to chuckle. There were muffles in the background.

"I have to go, now. The journey back should take a few hours, and I'll be back tonight so I'll go to school tomorrow, like I said."

"Yeah . . ." said Kelsi slowly, and she said goodbye.

The next five minutes after that, she thought about what Ryan said.

The next five minutes after _that_, she got ready to leave.

**HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM**

"Troy, I'm sorry I can't come, but I have rehearsals!" pouted Gabriella. She was lying on her bed, talking on her cell.

"Troy, you know that's not true. I don't always put you second, it's just that – Troy?" Gabriella chucked her cell on the floor and roaring in frustration, left the room.

That was her cue.

As soon as the door was shut, Kelsi darted in from the balcony, and searched everywhere. Cabinets, drawers, wardrobes, everything.

She didn't know where else to look, and Gabriella was bound to come back soon . . .

"If I was a typical teenager . . ." she muttered aloud, "Where would I hide a precious book?" Kelsi gazed around, and her sight landed on Gabriella's bed.

"Of course . . ." she whispered. With one swift motion, she lifted the mattress, and there it was, Navy blue, A5, waiting there for her.

In triumph, Kelsi snatched the book, and exited the way she came . . . seconds before Gabriella came back . . . to find her room in a mess.

**HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM**

Kelsi hugged the book close to her heart. She was so glad she had it back. The showing off book thing had stopped, making Kelsi surer that she had her book.

She hadn't had a chance look at it since Sunday, and it was Tuesday today. She wanted to look in it now, to see if any pages had been torn out.

Anxious, she opened the book.

_Gabriella's Diary_, read the first page, and Kelsi suddenly felt angry. How dare she write on Kelsi's book and call it her _diary_?!

Looking further into the book, Kelsi froze, shocked.

This wasn't Kelsi's writing book.

This was Gabriella's _actual Diary_.

**HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM**

"I can't believe it, Candi!" Kelsi whispered to her.

It was the first opportunity that Kelsi had to speak to her. It was Wednesday, and the first showing of the show was about to begin. Everyone was nervous as they hung around backstage.

"What . . . that was actually Gabriella's diary? Well hurry up then, what did it say?" ushered Candi, and Kelsi hesitated.

"It said stuff like 'Oh My Gosh, I really like Troy' and all this gushy stuff." Kelsi paused.

"But then it got sentimental, and she wrote, 'I'm losing all my friends and don't know what to do', and 'I have this secret that'-"

"Crocodile tears." snorted Candi. "I never trust crocodiles."

"But what if she was actually writing the truth? I don't think she meant for anyone to read her diary!"

"Well whatever. Actions speak louder than words, and her action was to read your private book the class, remember? I wasn't even in school!"

"I know." nodded Kelsi. "Now I get why she told Mickey it was hers; my Writing book and her Diary look _exactly the same_. She thought someone had got a hold of it somehow, and took it back."

"I wouldn't trust her at all. Listen, I have to tell you . . ." Candi stopped suddenly, listening to something.

"What?" urged Kelsi.

"Shush!"

Ms Darbus' voice rang out. "Actors! The show begins in five minutes! Please take your potions behind the curtains while I do my introductory speech!"

"I have to go," burble Candi, and rushed off, leaving Kelsi.

"Oh, fine then." said Kelsi glumly.

**HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM**

The Wednesday show went well. Ryan didn't show up till the last minute, so when he did, it made everyone really cheerful, and that happiness remained until the show ended.

On Thursday, Kelsi still didn't get a chance to talk to Candi or Ryan, but she talked to Suzy and Ally, and now that the worst part was over, Kelsi found out they were quite nice.

The show on Thursday was even better, as all the nervousness was gone, and the Actors got more confident.

Friday . . . was when it all happened.

**HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM**

"Candi! Stop avoiding me, will you!" said Kelsi angrily.

"I need some water." croaked Candi.

"Are you listening to me? You said you'd tell me who broke-"

"Water . . . some bastard . . . stupid sandwich . . . WATER!" Candi opened her sandwich that she taken one or two bites of, and showed it to Kelsi.

There was _loads_ of Chilli sauce in it.

"My . . . " gasped Kelsi. "Candi – you're going on stage soon! Your voice won't sound good if-"

Candi dragged her to the picture on the side of the stage. On the wall there was a picture of a piano, saying that it was classed as a String instrument and percussion instrument.

Candi took it off the wall and put it on the floor to stamp on it.

"What are you doing?" said Kelsi crossly. Candi wasn't making sense.

"Laya . . . Mont - her!" Candi pointed to her, and then pointed to her foot stamping the piano.

Ms Darbus' voice rang out, and Candi looked pleadingly at Kelsi before rushing away.

Kelsi stood there ten minutes after the show had started, working out what Candi meant.

On stage, a voice said, "Harry! What on earth are you doing?!"

Another voice said, "Look, just trust me, Laya!"

Laya. Kelsi gasped.

She finally knew who'd broken the piano.

**HSM HSM HSM HSM HSM**

Because it was the last show, afterwards, people were called up onto the stage for applause; the guy who did the costumes, lighting, Ms Darbus, and the rest of it.

When it seemed like the end, Suzy said,

"Lastly, we like to call up a sweet girl, who has helped us make this show as great as possible just using her imagination, even when times got tough. Can we please have a round of applause for KELSI NIELSEN!"

Kelsi was shocked and didn't move, so Ryan came backstage to her.

"Quick, you have to go up!" he urged, but she didn't want to budge. People were still clapping, cheering her on.

Out of the blue, Ryan leant over and gave her a kiss on the lips, and she returned it, surprised. "C'mon," he murmured, and he lead her on stage.

In the audience, Chad stood up and chanted, "Speech! Speech! Speech!" and others joined in. Kelsi took the flowers that Ally gave to her, and cleared her throat.

"Well . . . I don't know what to say. It's been . . . a really tough month. Things have changed a lot around here . . ."

Kelsi paused for a moment. "It all fell apart at one point, but we managed to put it back together, even though it was hard to trust each other."

"The hardest part was when the piano got broken," The entire drama crew that stood on stage looked at each other awkwardly.

"But I'm sure that Gabriella can provide a reasonable explanation for that." Kelsi finished.

A gasp went round the whole audience as every eye was turned to Gabriella, wearing her 'Laya' costume.

"I . . . I didn't -"

"Don't lie." croaked Candi, looking at her like she thought Gabriella was pathetic. "I told you . . . Montez did it. Laya. Sorry, but I'm not hiding anyone's secrets any more. Kel . . ." Candi turned to Kelsi.

"I was an accident, believe me!" pleaded Gabriella. "It went like this . . ."

Flashback

Monday, about four weeks ago . . .

"_Sharpay!" said Gabriella in shock, as Sharpay stood on the piano._

"_What? It won't break – and nobody plays it but Mousey Kelsi anyway." snorted Sharpay. "Look, I'll sit on it, and you push me."_

_Gabriella giggled, and they took turns in pushing the piano around. Nobody was around, it was early before school. People would show up for rehearsals in about half an hour._

"_Look, because of all the props, there's not enough space to push the piano from one side of the stage to another." said Gabriella thoughtfully._

"_So let's push it from back to front!" said Sharpay excitedly, and jumped off._

_Gabriella was doubtful, but Sharpay was game, so she was. "I'll push it first, but don't sit on it." Gabriella suggested as Sharpay made a face._

"_Wait, Gabriella wait! You're pushing it too hard!" said Sharpay anxiously. _

_Realising that she was, Gabriella stopped pushing and started pulling, to slow it down, but then a voice issued . . ._

"_Who is that?" said Candi, walking into the auditorium. "Why are you in here mucking around with the-"_

_Gabriella let go of the piano in shock, and it flew off the stage, and smashed loudly onto the ground._

"_Sonuva . . ." Candi gasped. "What have you done?! We have a show in a few weeks!"_

"_I didn't mean . . . Sharpay, you saw -" stammered Gabriella._

"_I have nothing to do with this." declared Sharpay, though her face was as white as a sheet. _"_None of us do. Gabriella – Candi – you can't say anything!"_

"_You guys are knee deep serious crap. Count me out." Candi shook her head and left the room, and Gabriella and Sharpay looked at each other, knowing she was right. _

_They quickly left the auditorium too . . ._

"Gabriella – that's not the only thing you're guilty of!" said Kelsi angrily, pointing a finger at her. "What about Troy? Taylor? A lot of people are being affected by your thoughtless actions!"

"What do you mean?" retorted Gabriella.

"I mean when you kept ditching Troy for rehearsals, abandoning all your other friends, and telling Taylor and Chad that they didn't like each other to split them up. What's wrong with you?"

Gabriella's anger suddenly subsided, and she looked like she was going to cry.

"I didn't mean to hurt anyone! It's just . . . I didn't have many friends anyway. I joined the drama club to try and make more friends, like Sharpay." Gabriella drew in breath, and issued a sob.

"It started becoming like . . . an addiction. I always put rehearsals before everything else. I couldn't even see that the friends I had were drifting away from me."

"Troy stopped talking to me, for one. I thought it had something to do with you or Sharpay . . . I went to the only person left who was still truly my friend; Taylor. But then she found Chad."

Taylor and Chad exchanged worried glances, but everyone else had their eye on this shocking scene . . .

"I was scared Taylor would get together with Chad and leave me, so I told them stuff . . . well, you know already. Everything I've done has fallen to pieces . . . I'm so sorry."

"Gabi . . . don't be that way!" called Taylor fron the audience, standing up.

"All this time . . ." whispered Troy, who was onstage in his 'Harry' costume.

"Liar." croaked Candi to Kelsi, her voice still sore. "Don't . . . trust . . . crocodiles!"

"No, Candi." Said Kelsi firmly, as everyone listened, "I believe her. But why didn't you say anything?"

"I couldn't!" cried Gabriella, tears dripping down her face. "I just . . . I don't know. The only way I could feel at ease is when I was reading that book . . ."

"The one with the stories about people in it?" yelled Mickey from the audience.

"Yeah, about that . . . can I have my book back?" said Kelsi hopefully. Everyone did a double take.

"_Your_ book?" said Gabriella in shock.

"Yeah, I . . . I wrote the stories. None of them are real," said Kelsi quickly. "And I wanted it back so bad . . . I went into your room and took . . . "

"My diary!" exclaimed Gabriella. "I thought your book was my diary, until I opened it. So you had it . . . why didn't you just say?"

"To be honest, I couldn't. See, before, I sort of . . ." Kelsi trailed off.

"Hated you," said Candi bluntly.

"Yeah," Kelsi admitted. "But now I see the truth." Kelsi sighed, and Ryan and Ryan who was grinning at her.

"What if it went like this . . ." she murmured.

"Huh?" frowned Gabriella.

"Nothing." grinned Kelsi.

"Now that that's sorted . . ." said Chad loudly from the audience, "I say we have an after-party!"

Everyone cheered, as Kelsi smiled, feeling like a whole load had been lifted off her shoulders.

She knew the truth at last.

* * *

**Aww, the next Chapter is the last!**

**One or two of you guessed that it was Gabriella, so good going on that!**

**Please review and let me know what you thought! Last Chappie will be up ASAP.**

**Star x x x**


	15. Kelsi closes the book

**This is the last Chapter of W.I.I.W.L.T., so please enjoy!**

**(If you liked this story, you should read my two oneshots, Splash, and it's sequel Stolen Halo.)**

**Disclaimer: After writing this whole story . . . I still don't own it! Some things never change, eh?**

**Checklist; The whole she-bang is done.**

* * *

**Recap**

She knew the truth at last.

**Calendar**

**Monday**: Drama club moved table. Talked to Troy, saw smashed piano in auditorium.

Went home, talked to Gabriella on phone. Complained to Mom about piano, she suggested being creative in another way. Went to bedroom, wrote first part of first story, Ice Queen.

**Tuesday**: Sharpay tripped me up, wrote second part of story, accidentally told Chelsea about secret, who told Sharpay.

Went to Cafeteria, Ryan talked to me, Chelsea talked to me, went to gym, and wrote Switching Roles. Sharpay tried to talk to me.

Went home, flopped on bed. Wrote first part of Zeke's Cupid Catastrophe.

**Wednesday**: Missed Drama practice, wrote last bit of Zeke's story. Ms Darbus caught me out, I'm in big trouble!

**Thursday**: Bumped into Troy, talk to him about Gabi, wrote first part of Taylor's story, Part one.

Went home, wrote last bit of Part one.

**Friday**: Caught Taylor confronting Chad, talked to her. Went to class, confronted Chad. Wrote Taylor's story Part two.

HSM (week 2) 

**Monday**: Dad turned up unexpectedly. Went to school, got in trouble with Ms Darbus, talked to Sharpay.

Went to practice, wrote ASTDPJTR and Candi saw. Told me that Ryan wrote stories too. Went with Ryan, wrote first part of Troy Bolton meets his match.

Went to get Ryan's hat as he went to auditorium for Lunch break rehearsal, over-heard Troy and Chad, thought of part two of Troy Bolton Meets his match, went with Chad to auditorium, quit show.

Talked to Chad, Zeke and Jason, went to talk to Drama Club about Dilemma, went with Chad to talk to Taylor. Put notebook in locker, saw Troy. Dad said the person renting the piano was Candi's Mom.

Went to Candi's house, hung around, met family, then got phone call from Taylor about Troy.

(**A.N. OMG! I didn't realise how long I made Monday! It lasted from C7 to C10!!!**)

**Tuesday**: Found notebook in bag. Went to school, lockers had been broken into. Talked to Candi, promised to go to house after school. Go to library, Martha gave me Sharpay's Message, wrote Ryan's Glamorous Genie.

Met Sharpay. Forgot to go to Candi's house, went to Ryan's instead, talked to him. Found out he played piano too, he gave me feedback on stories. Ryan was cute (giggle.) Went home, wrote Martha's Garden.

**Wednesday**: Told Drama Crew my idea.

**Thursday**: Nothing special.

**Friday**: Musical arrangements were set. Tickets for show are selling really quickly.

**HSM (Week 3)**

**Monday**: Programmes had been made, fliers went up.

**Tuesday**: Costumes were finished, more costume rehearsals.

**Wednesday**: Talked to Ryan, put notebook in locker again. Ryan said he's going to Young Actor's Award ceremony, will be back on Sunday.

Went home, called Candi. Candi said why she's unwell, and then I wrote Gabriella's .

**Thursday**: Went to Chelsea, Adam, Kennedy, and Dave, just to find out that Mickey didn't have my book.

**Friday**: Went to school, saw that Gabriella had my book.

**Sunday**: Phoned Candi, she's at rehearsal. Called Ryan, he told me to ask Gabriella for my book back. Went to Gabriella's house, stole my book back.

**HSM (Week 4)**

**Monday**: Nothing Special.

**Tuesday**: Finally looked at the book I stole . . . found that it was Gabriella's diary.

**Wednesday**: The first show. Told Candi about Diary.

**Thursday**: The second show.

**Friday**: The third and final show. Someone put Chilli in Candi's sandwich. Confronted Gabriella about piano.

. . . the truth came out. Went to after party, YAY!

**A week later . . .**

**Sunday**: (today) About to go for a walk in the moonlight with Ryan . . .

**Diary**

Midnight, me, and Ryan Evans. A divine combo.

Sorry, I guess I should have written a proper intro, but I'm really excited about tonight . . .

It's Sunday today. The first Sunday of a new month. It feels good, fresh, like I can start all over again.

Last month was crazy, too crazy for my liking, but the outcome has opened my eyes to a lot of things.

Gabriella, for one, has sworn to stop being someone she's not, which means that her relationship with Sharpay has kinda crumbled. Ah well, I guess it wasn't meant to be.

You may have noticed that I'm writing in my own book again (lol), me and Gabriella swapped back. Thankfully.

Troy and Gabi have got together now, so they're really happy. And Taylor and Chad are happy as well; they're calling me the 'Matchmaker' cause I got a whole bunch of people together;

Troy and Gabi, Adam and Chelsea, Kennedy and Suzy, Dave and Ally, Candi and Mickey got _back_ together, and believe it or not, Jason and Sharpay!

Even my love life's looking up. Me and Ryan (or should I say Ryan and I) are going out! Sharpay had no objections, so we're happy too.

My friendship with Troy has also been repaired; mainly because of the Gabriella thing, but it's different now. Out of all the good stuff that's happened, something bad was bound to come out sooner or later.

He doesn't call me 'Kel-Bell' anymore; he still calls Gabriella 'Gabi', though. And he still hasn't apologized for being an idiot.

I guess too much has changed to go back to the way things used to be, but I don't care anymore; I have Ryan.

My writing addiction . . . no longer a problem. I've harnessed them into creative playwriting skills, so Ryan and I just write scripts and compose all day long.

It's so awesome!

This navy book I'm writing in now will be put away. Maybe I'll show it to my kids or something.

Hey, when I started writing, Mom said she used to write stories about animals that could talk and stuff. I remember now! I wonder if she can show them to me . . . ?

I've rebuilt my relationship with my Mom and I've got back into practice with my piano playing. Dad's around more often too, which is great.

As for the broken piano, the Drama Crew decided to use Ryan's 'raising money' idea, so in the Auditorium, the people I'd written about in my notebook (Troy, Gabriella, Chad, you get the pic) would actually act out the stories I had written!

Even now, I can't believe how successful that was. The 'Zeke's Cupid' one was particularly funny!

Anyway, I have to go and skip into the sunset with my happy ending or something.

Well actually, it's moonlight; Me and Ryan are going for a moonlight walk, like we do every so often. If my Mom found out, she'd so flip . . . but I've been lucky so far!

Hehe.

Afterwards, me and Ryan go to his house, and do more work on the script/songs for the next show, but _then_ we muck about which usually ends up with us kissing . . . One time, Sharpay walked in, and . . .

Um . . .

ANYWAY, I should really go. I'm still adjusting to all the Changes. Things are so different now. I _feel_ different, that's for sure.

Maybe . . . maybe I needed all of this craziness to happen to me . . . so I could figure out who I truly am.

And so, here I write the last stories I will ever write in this book, and then I will put it away . . .

So I can start over.

X X X

_If the price is right_

_Jason entered the Jewelers, open-minded. He wanted to get a really necklace or ring or something for Sharpay, and this was a good place to start looking._

"_Hello again, sir." said Walter, with a friendly smile. Walter was the cashier, and he knew a lot about the Jewellery they sold at the store. "What are you looking for this time?"_

"_I dunno . . . a ring or necklace for a fussy lady!" replied Jason, laughing as he looked around._

"_Ah, may I suggest this one then, Sir," smiled Walter. He showed Jason a ring, gold and quite bulky, with makings engraved on the surface. __Jason shook his head; he didn't like it and he knew Sharpay wouldn't either. _

_"What about this one?" offered Walter. _

_It was a Silver necklace with a Rose Quartz crystal at the end. Jason knew Sharpay would like it, especially because of the pink crystal, but the price was extreme._

"_We have one over here," said Walter, and Jason sighed, hoping that he'd be third time lucky, and he was. Walter showed him a beautiful silver ring with a single, pink gem set into the metal._

_It was dainty and small, but very sweet. It shimmered beautifully in the light, and Jason stared, mesmerised. She'd love it._

"_How much?" said Jason immediately._

"_One Thousand, five hundred dollars."_ ($1,500)_ said Walter. Jason slowly looked at him._

"_One thousand . . .and __five hundred dollars__?!?!" he repeated, raising an eyebrow._

"_You're joking. There's no way I'm paying that much! C'mon. It's a pretty ring, pure silver, pure crystal, I know. But really, five hundred dollars, at the most." (_$500)

_Walter did a double take. "Sir, we are respectable people! I cannot possibly give it to you at that price! One thousand is reasonable." _($1000)

"_C'mon, it not like it's stuffed with expensive gems," snorted Jason. "Seven hundred dollars is a sensible price, surely?" _($700)

"_Sir," Walter moaned. He'd never had this much trouble with a customer before. "Nine hundred dollars, my final offer." _($900)

"_Seven hundred and fifty, my final offer." retorted Jason._ ($750)

"_Eight hundred and fifty."_ ($850)

"_Seven hundred and ninety."_ ($790)

"_Eight hundred and twenty."_ ($820)

"_Eight hundred, take it or leave it." demanded Jason. (_$800)

_Walter sighed. It was better that nothing. "Agreed." He sighed, and Jason paid, got the ring in Sharpay's size, and left, grinning widely._

Old codger_, he thought. Always raising prices. He knew Walter well, which is why he fought so hard to lower the price. Because the price he got it for . . ._

_Was the price it was originally in the first place!_

_X X X _

_Eavesdroppers_

"_We need to talk," said Gabriella awkwardly, as she sat down with Troy on her bed in her bedroom._

"_Look, I know what you're thinking, Gabi, but it doesn't have to be like this!" Troy sighed. "I'm sorry. I wish we could start over . . ."_

"_Just forgive him," whispered a voice from the wardrobe._

"_Who's that? frowned Gabriella, and Troy shrugged._

"_I don't know. Listen – Gabi, Maybe we should take a break, you know? Maybe . . ."_

"_Troy . . . there's something I need to tell you . . ." confessed Gabriella. Troy's eyes widened in surprise as he listened intently._

"_You don't wanna do that," A muffled voice drifted from below them, where they were sitting on the bed._

"_Who __is__ that?" stressed Gabriella._

"_Never you mind." came another voice. It seemed to be coming from behind the curtains._

"_That's it." said Gabriella loudly, standing up. "Whoever's in my room – show yourself now!"_

_There was silence for a few seconds, then Zeke and Sharpay fell out of the wardrobe._

"_I couldn't breathe!" gasped Zeke._

"_You idiots!" exclaimed Sharpay angrily. "You gave the game away!"_

"_It's not my fault!" said Ryan, steeping out from behind the curtain. "Kelsi and Taylor were putting me off!" _

"_Don't blame us!" said Kelsi and Taylor together, as the curtains were pulled back. "We just wanted to listen!" whined Kelsi._

_They were resting their elbows on the window, standing on the vine that grew outside Gabriella's window. Gabriella usually used it to sneak out late at night._

"_You were making kissy noises!" said Taylor, making sure she kept her balance. "I couldn't help giggling!"_

_Gabriella, shocked, sighed and flopped back down on her bed, where a small 'ow' was issued. "What the . . . ?" she began._

_Chad slid out from under the bed. "Don't be angry at me – I just wanted to know what was going on!"_

"_Me too!" added Taylor._

"_We all did." Summarized Sharpay._

"_Well I hope you're happy. You can leave my room now!" stormed Gabriella, striding to the door. As she opened it, Jason and Martha, who were leaning against the door, fell inside._

_They grinned sheepishly at the furious Gabriella, stumbling to their feet._

"_GET OUT!" she screamed, and everyone, ran hurriedly from the room apart from Taylor and Kelsi, who quickly climbed down the vine._

"_You were saying?" said Troy, nervously, and grinned when Gabriella's shocked expression remained for a few seconds._

"_I'll tell you later," she said weakly._

X X X

_The Detention Club_

_The door opened, and two more teenagers came in. Sharpay and Ryan._

"_Again?" said Troy in disbelief. They'd been coming to detention more than usual._

"_We couldn't help it. Consistently throwing water at the teacher is so satisfying . . ." grinned Ryan, and Sharpay grinned back._

"_What are you in for?" she asked._

"_Didn't do homework." shrugged Martha._

"_Caused a major explosion in the science lab," said Taylor bluntly._

"_Set of fireworks on the school grounds," grinned Chad, and Troy, Jason, and Zeke nodded; they'd all done it together._

"_Back chatted to the teacher." said Gabriella wistfully._

"_Gave Ms Darbus the finger." said Kelsi quietly. Everyone looked at her, thoughoutly suprised. "I didn't mean to!"_

"_None of us meant to," said Taylor quickly, "Apart from you lot," she indicated the boys, who started to laugh. _"_We keep trying __not__ to, but we can't help it. We've formed some sort of . . . club. We keep coming back."_

"_I don't wanna come back!" said Ryan, his eyes wide._

"_Then don't. We won't, at least." Said Sharpay, as though it was the simplest thing in the world._

"_You think it's that easy?" said Zeke incredulously. Sharpay nodded._

_And they kept their word. The twins didn't come back, they were good in lessons, and even joined the drama club. They turned out to be very good at drama._

_So, following in their footsteps, less and less people showed up in detention._

_The boys joined the basketball team, and Taylor and Gabriella joined the scholastic decathlon._

_Martha became a brainiac, and Kelsi composed for the school shows, and helped the Drama Club._

_In fact, everyone knew how hard they'd worked to turn their life around._

_They'd managed to start over._

X X X

Time to close the book.

Luv, Kelsi Nielsen xxx

**That concludes ****What if it went like this****, and thank you for reading till the end!**

**I wrote this because I wanted to round of the story in a nice way, and using Kelsi's Calendar, this will make the story a bit clearer.**

**I'm doing some other HSM Horror and Supernatural stories, but I'll do romance Oneshots too, so look out for those! Look out for my new story, Wildcat Daredevils!**

**Bye! Star x x x**


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